The Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday that a
total of 550 poultry had been killed in an outbreak of the H5N1
strain of avian influenza in Liangying Village of east China's Anhui
Province, but that it has now been brought under control.
The identity of the strain was confirmed by the
National Bird Flu Reference Lab on Monday, according to local
media.
The ministry said it had sent experts to the area
to respond to the outbreak and sterilize the area, and that no
human infections or new poultry cases have been reported in the
province. The dates of the first or most recent reported infections
were not available.
The ministry said the provincial animal disease
control center has taken a series of measures to prevent further
infections on all poultry farms.
In Beijing on Tuesday, surveillance on poultry and
bird markets began after an emergency prevention order was issued
by the Municipal Industry and Commerce Bureau, requiring all live
poultry on sale in the capital to have certificates of origin from
bird flu-free regions and quarantine certificates.
Xinhua News Agency said today that Beijing
Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau has setup sterilization
stations at 27 highway and road entrances to the capital, making
quarantine inspections on trucks transporting poultry. Animal
quarantine at airports and railway stations has also been
enhanced.
Lei Decai, director of the Municipal Agricultural
Bureau, said it had ensured immunity amongst 98 percent of poultry
stock and 80 percent of birds in zoos, safari parks and bird
markets.
The municipal forestry authority has set up 57
stations to monitor migratory birds inhabiting wetlands, reservoirs
and parks, according to Xinhua.
In west China's biggest city, Chongqing,
101 checkpoints have been set up to monitor stock entering the
city.
The Veterinary Department of Chongqing’s Municipal
Agricultural Bureau said it had reinforced immunity amongst poultry
stock and epidemic-control on large poultry farms.
Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang
Province, has designated a number of hospitals to monitor flu
patients and asked them to report suspected cases.
In northern China's Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region, where about 2,600 birds died
following a recent H5N1 outbreak, medical staff were looking out
for human infections, but none have been reported in the
quarantine-isolation area.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2005)