Bird Flu Outbreak In Xinjiang, China

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Article Date: 08 Jun 2006 - 10:00 PDT

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China's Agriculture Ministry reports that a new bird flu outbreak among poultry has been reported from Hetian county, in the Xinjiang region, north-west of the country. There are no details of how many birds are infected or have died.

This is the first report of H5N1 infection among farmed poultry since February, 2006. All other reports since then have been concerning wild birds.

The National Bird Flu Laboratory, on Wednseday, confirmed H5N1 as the cause of death of the sick birds.

There have been about 40 outbreaks of H5N1 among birds in China over the past 12 months. 12 humans have died in the country as a result of H5N1 infection.

Since the end of last year Chinese authorities have put into place a massive vaccination campaign, which seems to have had some effect in slowing down the spread of H5N1 among farmed birds.

The Ministry of Agriculture has sent a team of experts to Hetian county - their aim is to try to control the outbreak and stop it from spreading. Vehicles and people moving in and out of the area are being disinfected.

A leading Chinese expert, Liu Xiufan, said China must improve its efforts to control bird flu. He urges China's government to review the effectiveness of current measures. He said 'We should do our best to reduce the risk of a human pandemic influenza breaking out and make necessary preparations before such a risk becomes a reality.'

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today

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