The Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday that the government
will vaccinate China's entire poultry population of 14 billion - a
fifth of the world's total - against H5N1 avian influenza during an
online question-and-answer session on People.com.cn.
"We are in the process of vaccinating all poultry in the
country," said Jia Youling, director-general of the ministry's
veterinary bureau, amidst reports of the country's ninth and tenth
bird flu outbreaks to be confirmed since October 19.
Jia said central government would cover 50-80 percent of the
vaccination costs, according to Xinhua News Agency today.
The ministry confirmed last night that the two new outbreaks, in
the counties of Zepu and Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region, had been confirmed as H5N1 on Monday in dead poultry first
found on November 9.
Local health authorities have culled 322,500 chickens within 3
kilometers of the affected areas.
Experts have warned that if China cannot control repeated
outbreaks of bird flu, human cases of the disease are
inevitable.
The final results of the WHO and Ministry of Health
investigation into three suspected cases of human infection in
central China's Hunan Province, one of which was fatal, are
expected to be made public this week.
A fourth possible human case in the northeastern province of
Liaoning is also being followed up.
Roy Wadia, WHO spokesperson in Beijing, was quoted by Xinhua as
saying that if a case was confirmed in China "it's not something
that's earth-shattering in the grand scheme of things because there
are human cases elsewhere."
Over 60 people have died of bird flu in Asia since 2003 and the
fatality rate is estimated to be one in two for human
infections.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2005)