China's capital steps up bird flu surveillance (AFP) Updated: 2005-10-23 15:49
China's capital Beijing has stepped up its efforts to combat bird flu by
sending inspectors to farms, households and migratory bird sanctuaries to
enforce disease prevention controls.
A vendor passes a
duck she has just butchered to her daughter at her poultry stall in
Beijing. China's capital has stepped up its efforts to combat bird flu by
sending inspectors to farms, households and migratory bird sanctuaries to
enforce disease prevention controls.
[AFP] | The stepped-up veterinary checks came
after China reported its first outbreak of bird flu in more than two months, on
a farm in its northern Inner Mongolia region, where 2,600 birds died, with
91,000 others culled.
Chinese leaders have warned the country faces a "grave" threat from avian
influenza, as both Asia and Europe fight to contain the deadly virus.
Officials in Beijing have begun checking chickens, ducks, geese and even
carrier pigeons being raised as pets in the city to make sure they are properly
vaccinated or isolated, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
So far, some 98 percent of the poultry raised on Beijing's farms have been
vaccinated, and officials hope to increase the rate to 100 percent in the coming
days, the report quoted city agricultural officials saying.
Poultry markets, slaughterhouses and zoos will also be monitored, and special
attention will be paid to farms near sanctuaries for migratory birds, which are
believed to have brought bird flu to several countries.
In Beijing, security was to be stepped up at airports, bus and train stations
and at border crossings to prevent birds from infected areas reaching the
capital, said the report.
City officials were also taking steps to ensure there is an adequate
stockpile of vaccines and disinfectants.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have issued a directive for an
all-out effort to prevent the spread of the virus, amidst fears of a global
pandemic after Russia, Romania and Turkey all confirmed new outbreaks.
World Health Organization officials in Beijing said although China had strong
political determination to tackle the problem, and had stepped up monitoring
efforts, more needed to be done at the local level.
Disease prevention officials in Beijing and other Chinese cities face a tough
task, as it is common for families to raise poultry for their own consumption.
Residents of Beijing, especially in the older "hutong" alley neighborhoods,
often keep their small flocks in cages in their yards, balconies or just outside
their front door.
Chickens and ducks were still on sale at small sidewalk markets in the
capital.
Southern China's Guangdong province said it would set up a surveillance
system to detect animal diseases quickly and prevent the spread to humans, the
Beijing Youth Daily said in a separate report.
Guangdong was the location for the first outbreak of the pneumonia-like
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS) in November 2002, which triggered a
global health crisis, causing nearly 800 deaths worldwide.
China has battled at least four outbreaks of bird flu this year, although
there have been no human infections so far.
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