The coming spring will also likely bring the fear of widespread
avian influenza across North China.
Beginning next month, migratory birds will begin flocking to the
north, possibly carrying with them the virus that has swept across
Asia.
Officials and experts are working on ways to reduce the possible
spread of the H5N1 virus by the wild birds.
"Although there is not enough evidence to confirm that the
migratory birds spread the deadly virus in China, they have been
highly suspected by scientists," said Lei Fumin, a bird researcher
at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences.
Wild migratory birds are also regarded as a possible source of
the H5N1 bird flu.
Lei and his institute have kicked off a research project to
track the source of bird flu in China. The project has been
approved by?the Ministry of Science
and Technology, Lei told China Daily Sunday.
Unlike the arduous process of tracking the source of the SARS
virus, Lei expects scientists will soon find the source of the bird
flu, maybe in one week, Lei noted.
Determining the source of the virus will contribute greatly to
preventing and controlling the epidemic, said Lei.
Meanwhile, Lei's project will also figure out how to effectively
prevent migratory birds from spreading the virus as they fly
north.
Still, efforts are being made both at the beginning and end of
the birds' annual migration to prevent the spread of the virus as
much as possible.
Experts are also working to control any possible spread in areas
where the birds are likely to touch down.
The many measures taken include strict prohibitions of contact
between poultry or people and wild birds in Poyang Lake State
Natural Reserve, East China's Jiangxi
Province.
People's activities are strictly limited in the reserve to
ensure the more than 300,000 birds, including swans, that will pass
through there will be free of the virus before they take off again
in early March.
And in the bird-flu-virus-free Beijing, an important region
where the migratory birds will pass and station, strict
surveillance has been set up by the local government in spots where
birds usually reach.
Among the more than 350 kinds of birds that can be found in
Beijing, more than 250 are migratory.
Education campaigns are underway in Beijing to prevent close
contact between people and migratory birds and to prevent any
contact between migratory birds and poultry populations.
Meanwhile, Lei Fumin suggested that people should also try their
best to protect the spots where the migratory birds may go to, and
not destroy these spots themselves or with their poultry.
Still, people are still quite passive as the annual migration
nears because these birds are hard to control and there is much
uncertainty in regards to their moving and settling sites.
"We still only have a little knowledge of the routes migratory
birds take and need to better understand their activities," said
Jiang Zhigang, another researcher from the Chinese Academy of
Science.
Zhang Jinguo, deputy head of the Beijing Zoo which has more than
3,000 birds, said he has no good idea on how to prevent the
migratory birds from flying to his zoo and possibly bringing the
highly contagious virus.
Zhang said he plans to leave food available in spots which are
far from the zoo birds to attract the migrant ones, "but I am
really powerless if they still prefer to eat food with the native
ones."
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture reported two more suspected
cases of bird flu in the city of Huanggang, Central China's Hubei
Province, and Songming County, Southwest China's Yunnan
Province.
Four more reports of suspected H5N1 bird flu cases in South
China have been confirmed by the National Bird Flu Reference
Laboratory.
The confirmed bird flu cases were reported in Jiangcheng
District of Yangjiang, Maogang District of Maoming and Doumen
District of Zhuhai, all in Guangdong
Province; and Xingning District of Nanning in the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Internationally, a teenage boy died of bird flu in Thailand,
taking Asia's toll to at least 20 by Sunday, ahead of emergency
regional talks on ways to battle the rampaging virus.
Thailand officials also confirmed that some migratory birds
found dead in the country carried the avian virus.
India is to host a seminar of South Asian nations today to work
out ways to tackle the bird flu outbreak.
Ekaphan Pongkhan, 13, succumbed after more than two weeks in
hospital, the latest victim of the virulent H5N1 virus that has now
killed six Thais and 14 Vietnamese.
(China Daily February 16, 2004)