By Song Liyun
The British weekly magazine
New Scientist recently carried a story claiming that bird
flu probably originated in China as early as in the first half of
2003. “This is completely groundless,” said Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue, adding that the World Health
Organization (WHO) has said already that it is too early to target
any country as the source of the disease.
Zhang said that China hoped that
all countries would take a scientific attitude towards the
epidemic.
At a regular Foreign Ministry
press conference on January 29, Zhang said claims that China was
the source of the Southeast Asian bird flu outbreak are incorrect,
unfounded and unscientific, and therefore irresponsible.
Avian influenza is a disease
which humans have known about for 100 years, Zhang said. “We
believe that this highly contagious disease is a worldwide
problem,” she noted. It has been a topic of interest and research
for scientists, both in China and abroad.
The sources and infection
channels of the disease follow epidemiological patterns. Therefore,
sufficient experimentation and research are required to understand
its source and ways of spreading, she explained.
Zhang emphasized that the
Chinese government and relevant authorities attach great importance
to solving the problem. The Chinese government regards the disease
as a significant public health threat, and public health must be
made a priority, she said. She revealed that no Chinese has been
inflected by the disease so far.
Zhang went on to say that state
leaders have instructed the relevant departments and the
authorities in different parts of the country to take practical
preventive measures to contain the epidemic. The Chinese government
has meanwhile taken a range of resolute legal and scientific
measures in this regard.
According to a BBC report which
came out about the same time, a WHO spokeswoman said that the
deadly bird flu probably erupted in April 2003, but she denied that
China was the source of the virus.
The WHO official said that the
WHO tests of the virus samples collected in April last year had
proved that the samples contained the Avian influenza A (H5N1) now
spreading in Asian countries. She refused to reveal their origin,
but pointed out that the samples were not from China. According to
the WHO, bird flu has many causes, the investigation of which is
still under way.
China’s Vice Minister of
Agriculture Qi Jingfa also commented on the New Scientist
report by saying “It is nothing but a conjecture.” He urged all
Asian countries to cooperate closely in the fight against the
epidemic. “Only in this way can mankind eliminate the threat from
such infectious diseases as bird flu,” he said.
(China.org.cn February 2, 2004)