China and Vietnam Report Flu Outbreaks
- From: "Chim" <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 4 Nov 2005 15:07:56 -0800
China and Vietnam Report Flu Outbreaks
Japan Prepares to Destroy Large Bird Populations
By STEPHANIE HOO, AP
BEIJING (Nov. 4) - China and Vietnam reported new bird flu outbreaks in
poultry Friday despite massive prevention efforts, while Japan prepared
to destroy 180,000 birds to stop a suspected outbreak and Thailand
announced plans to distribute its own generic anti-viral drug.
As global jitters mounted, a meeting of ministers from 17 African
nations appealed to the continent's governments to share resources,
warning that migratory birds from Europe and Asia could carry the virus
to their shores.
"The first birds should hit the continent in two to three weeks," said
Aberra Deressa, Ethiopia's agriculture minister, at the conference in
Kigali, Rwanda. "We cannot move separately, we have to move together or
we will fail."
The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu has devastated Asia's poultry
flocks and killed at least 62 people since 2003.
Most of the human deaths from bird flu have been linked to close
contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate
into a form easily spread from person to person and spark a worldwide
pandemic.
China's latest outbreak - the fourth in three weeks in the world's most
populous country - killed 8,940 chickens Oct. 26 in Badaohao village in
Liaoning province east of Beijing, the government said.
The outbreak prompted authorities to destroy 369,900 other birds in the
region and came despite efforts to tighten controls on China's 5.2
billion chickens, ducks and other poultry.
Hong Kong immediately banned poultry imports from Liaoning.
No human cases have been reported in China, but authorities warn one is
inevitable if the government can't stop repeated outbreaks in poultry.
In Vietnam - where most of the human deaths have occurred - more than
3,000 poultry died or were slaughtered this week in three villages in
Bac Giang province, 35 miles northeast of Hanoi, said provincial vice
chairman Nguyen Dang Khoa.
Transporting poultry in or out of the three villages was banned, and
the area has been disinfected and remaining poultry vaccinated, he
said. In one village, Van Trung, a dozen local officials went from
house to house Friday, beating to death any poultry they found.
"We expect more outbreaks, not just in Bac Giang, but also in other
provinces," said Hoang Van Nam, deputy director of the Animal Health
Department. "Cooler weather now makes it easier for the virus to
spread."
In Japan, authorities said antibody testing had found that 80 chickens
at a farm in Ibaraki state had been exposed to a virus of the H5
strain, but survived. Nevertheless, 180,000 or 300,000 birds at the
farm would be killed as a precaution, officials said.
In Thailand, the head of the state drug production company said Friday
the country could begin as early as February distributing its generic
version of Oseltamivir, considered to be one of the most effective
anti-viral drugs for bird flu.
Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche developed Oseltamivir, known by the
trademarked name Tamiflu, but cannot keep up with demand.
Roche confirmed Tamiflu is not patented in Thailand and the country
could make it without compensating the company. It also offered
Thailand its expertise in making the drug, saying it was "interested in
ensuring the best possible global preparedness for a potential pandemic
threat."
Underscoring the shortage, Cambodia's Health Ministry said it only
enough Tamiflu to treat about 100 people.
Africa is of particular concern, because with its strained
infrastructure, experts fear any cases of the virus will be poorly
reported and poorly managed.
"We are going to be affected seriously if we don't tackle the problem
now," said Aberra, who is also the outgoing head of the council of
African ministers responsible for animal resources.
Livestock experts at the meeting in Kigali warned that an H5N1 outbreak
on the continent "could be potentially more severe than in Asia, in
view of the fact that a large number of rural people live in close
association with domestic fowl."
Africa has an estimated 1.1 billion domesticated poultry.
Associated Press writers Tran Van Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam, Rungrawee C.
Pinyorat in Bangkok, Thailand, Gabriel Gabiro in Kigali, Rwanda, and
Hiroko Tabuchi in Tokyo, Japan, contributed to this report.
11/04/05 13:17 EST
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the
AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated
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