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Tenth human H5N1 infection reported
By Zhao Huanxin (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-24 06:01
China's Ministry of Health yesterday announced one more human case of bird
flu, bringing the tally up to 10 cases.
The infected person is a 29-year-old woman surnamed Cao from Jinhua Town of
Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, said a report released by the
ministry. She has been hospitalized in Chengdu and is in critical condition.
Coinciding with the news, the country's veterinary workers were urged not to
relax their containment efforts during the coming Spring Festival when a supply
of safe poultry must be ensured.
"We must see clearly the severe situation during Spring Festival and always
put people's health and safety first," Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu said in Beijing
yesterday, one week before the traditional Chinese gala.
Hui, also chief of the national bird flu control headquarters, said
consumption of fowls and their products will soar during Spring Festival and
early spring, when the transfer of poultry will be more frequent, and the
migratory birds begin their journey north.
Earlier, the country's Chief Veterinary Officer Jia Youling said winter and
spring are the peak seasons for bird flu, and 60 per cent of China's domestic
birds are raised on backyard farms with inadequate management, which makes
epidemic prevention difficult.
The country reported 32 outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu last year. All the
epidemic sites had ended quarantine isolation by January 3, according to the
Ministry of Agriculture.
Despite the achievements, containment workers are facing new challenges, and
no one can afford to relax their efforts, Hui told the meeting on the prevention
and control of avian influenza.
During the week-long holidays, there must be people on duty to deal with any
emergencies and to ensure the smooth flow of information, he said.
Supervisors must make sure vaccination, monitoring and disinfection measures
are implemented conscientiously and all hidden perils are eliminated, he said.
To prevent human infection of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, screening
of suspicious pneumonia cases and training of contingency squads must be
strengthened, the vice-premier said.
China has reported 10 human cases of bird flu. Six of them died.
The eighth case, a 6-year-old boy surnamed Ouyang who was confirmed to have
contracted the disease on January 9 in Central China's Hunan Province, is
recovering at a local hospital, Xinhua reported on Saturday.
But bird flu control is just one side of the coin. As poultry is almost an
indispensable cuisine for traditional Chinese festivals, the vice-premier also
called for solid work to monitor the market supply of poultry products for
reliable quality and safety.
Quarantine and inspection must be enhanced to guarantee that all products are
up to standards. Anyone who averts quarantine or is involved in the
transferring, processing and marketing diseased and dead animals and poultry
products must be penalized.
In addition, there should be more publicity to promote consumption of bird
products, he said.
Sales of eggs and other poultry products have picked up as the Lunar New Year
draws near.
In Nanchang, capital of East China's Jiangxi Province, sales of eggs have
increased by 20 per cent each month to reach 20 tons a day, according to the
municipal bureau of statistics.
(China Daily 01/24/2006 page2)
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