China confirms bird flu outbreak
Pastor Dale Morgan
China confirms bird flu outbreak*
China has confirmed a new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird
flu virus in the central province of Hunan, state media has reported.
More than 11,000 poultry died of the virus in Shijiping village near
Yiyang city, the Agriculture Ministry said.
Some 53,000 birds have since been culled and officials say that the
outbreak is now under control.
China's last reported case was in March, when chickens died at a poultry
market near the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
There were no reports of human infection in the latest outbreak.
A total of 15 people have died in China from the H5N1 virus and millions
of birds have been culled.
Officials are working to vaccinate billions of domestic poultry by the
end of May in preparation for the northward migration of wild birds in
the summer, Xinhua news agency has said.
Since the H5N1 virus emerged in South East Asia in late 2003, it has
claimed more than 180 lives around the world. Indonesia has been hardest
hit, with more than 70 deaths.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate to a form which could be easily
passed from human to human, triggering a pandemic and potentially
putting millions of lives at risk.