China tightens bird-flu measures further
(AP/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 07:17

144,624 heads of poultry culled

The latest outbreaks, reported on Sunday, were in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Central China's Hubei Province, and killed a total of 3,676 chickens, ducks and geese. Authorities culled 7,000 birds to contain the outbreaks, Xinhua said.

This year, the mainland reported 21 outbreaks of bird flu in nine provinces and autonomous regions, including one in which migratory birds were infected, Yin said.

Cumulatively, bird flu killed 144,624 head of poultry, prompting the culling of another 21.18 million, he said.

In recent weeks, the Ministry of Agriculture has been updating information on outbreaks at its official website (www.agri.gov.cn/ztzl/fkqlg/).

China assures foreign diplomats of safety

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health assured foreign diplomats in Beijing that it is safe in China despite the bird-flu outbreaks.

"There is no proof that the bird-flu virus can be transmitted from human to human. The situation is under control," Lei Zhenglong, an official with the ministry, told diplomats yesterday at a briefing.

The briefing was organized by the ministries of agriculture and health.

Bird flu prevention and control is a challenge for China and the whole world, Barry O'Neil, assistant director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of New Zealand, told China Daily yesterday. "It is a global mission."

According to Li Jinxiang, vice-director of the Veterinary Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, international collaboration will be strengthened to fight the disease.

Quarantines imposed on the first three epidemic-hit regions have been removed, said Li. The three regions are Hohhot in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tianchang in East China's Anhui Province, and Xiangtan County in Central China's Hunan Province.