China's State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (SAQSIQ) issued a circular Thursday urging its subordinate quarantine departments to step up quarantine over people from regions hit by bird flu.?

The circular calls on all local quarantine departments to take rigid measures, such as testing body temperatures and registering health conditions, to quarantine those from the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan and Vietnam, three Asian nations struck by the poultry disease.

The circular asks local quarantine departments to enhance monitoring and epidemiology research over acute respiratory disease cases and immediately report any suspected case.

The circular also urges people to avoid direct contact with infected poultry and people, and not to eat live or incompletely cooked chicken or ducks so as to avoid infection.

By Jan. 14 in Vietnam, altogether 15 people had contracted the bird flu, and 12 of them had died.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Jan. 14 that those Vietnamese that died of the disease was infected with Virus H5N1, the same type of virus causing the bird flu epidemic in Hong Kong in 1997.

China bans pigs, wild boars from ROK

China began to forbid importing pigs, wild boars and any pig and wild boar produce from the Republic of Korea (ROK), which reported hog cholera cases early January.

The SAQSIQ and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the circular Thursday.

All pigs, wild boars and their produce that have been transported to China from the ROK will be returned or destroyed, the SAQSIQ source said.

The circular also forbade pigs, wild boars and their produce from the ROK to be sent by post or carried by passengers.

These produce from the ROK will be sealed up if they are found on international ships, airplanes and trains going through China, the SAQSIQ said.

China bans birds from Japan, Vietnam

The Chinese government decided Thursday to ban importing birds from Japan and Vietnam, which have been hit by severe bird flu.

The SAQSIQ and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued the circular Thursday.

All birds that have been transported to China from the two countries will be returned or destroyed, the SAQSIQ source said.

The circular also forbade birds from the two countries to be sent by post or carried by passengers.

Birds from the two countries will be sealed off if they are found on international ships, airplanes and trains that pass China, the SAQSIQ said.

Quarantine authorities will destroy all the birds smuggled from the two countries, the circular said.

China refuses imports of cloven-hoofed animals from Tajikistan

Cloven-hoofed animals imported from Tajikistan have been banned in China, the SAQSIQ said Thursday.

The SAQSIQ made the announcement in a joint circular with the Ministry of Agriculture Thursday, saying the move was to protect animals in China from foot-and-mouth disease.

Three cases of foot-and-mouth disease were reported in Tajikistan recently.

All cloven-hoofed animals that have been carried to China from Tajikistan will be returned or destroyed, the SAQSIQ source said.

The circular also forbade people to send cloven-hoofed animals by post and banned passengers from carrying them into China from Tajikistan.

These animals and their produce will be sealed off if they are found on international ships, flights and trains that pass China, the SAQSIQ said.

The quarantine authorities will destroy all cloven-hoofed animals found smuggled from Tajikistan into the country, the circular said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2004)