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Official: Bird flu crisis "severe" in China
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-21 21:54
China had previously announced 19 outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus this
year, including 17 since October 19.
With the world's biggest poultry industry -- 14 billion fowls produced each
year -- China faces a crisis that is far from over, Yin warned.
He said the danger was expected to grow as temperatures dropped across the
nation throughout winter, making it easier for viruses to stay alive.
"The colder the weather is, the higher the risk of epidemics breaking out,"
Yin said.
Controlling the outbreaks is also getting more difficult as the bird flu gets
more virulent, he said.
"The virulence of bird flu can not only lead to the deaths of chickens but
can also affect water fowl such as ducks and geese," he said.
"This situation was hard to find in the past."
Yin also admitted that "backward" farming methods in
China, with poultry being raised alongside livestock in family farms, also made controlling the spread of H5N1 "difficult."
The new emergency regulations, adopted on November 16, outline the
obligations of every level of government, as well as people and companies, when
faced with a potential bird flu outbreak.
Yin said the new laws require the reporting of outbreaks in a timely manner,
dealing with them "promptly and resolutely," and being fully prepared with
adequate financial resources, medical supplies and personnel.
"For any cases of false reporting or late reporting,
severe punishment will be applied," Yin said.
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