Poultry sales plummet in Beijing and Shanghai after three bird flu outbreaks

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Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 30 Oct 2005 - 4:00 PDT

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After three bird flu outbreaks hit flocks in different parts of China, sales of poultry in the country's main cities have taken an 80% nosedive. Health experts say that if China cannot prevent future outbreaks of bird flu among its flocks, it is only a question of time before people become infected. According to Chinese authorities, no human in China currently has bird flu.

Even though the price of chicken has dropped 50%, many people are shunning the product and going for other sources of protein.

Health officials say it is not possible to catch bird flu from well cooked chicken or eggs. For a human to catch bird flu he/she needs a lot of contact with live birds. It is possible to catch bird flu if you are involved with the slaughtering of poultry and some of the birds are infected. Bird droppings can also be a source of infection. In some rare cases, humans have caught it from other humans, but only if a person was treating an infected patient and was touching him/her a lot and with him/her for a long time.

For the moment, it is not easy for a human to catch bird flu.

Within the last few weeks there have been three important outbreaks of bird flu among flocks in China. One was in Inner Mongolia (chickens and ducks), another in Anhui and another in Hunan.

Health experts around the world say that the only way we can possibly combat an impending flu pandemic is with total international cooperation. This means countries have to be completely open, data has to be exchanged freely and quickly between governments and agencies around the world. Many worry that governments which rely on heavily censored media to survive may not be so open about their internal problems. Any outbreak of bird flu that occurs anywhere in the world could have repercussions for all of us on this planet - we must all be open and report data immediately. This is not a time for national pride or trying to save face.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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