On Sunday, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu ordered all localities and departments to work harder to prevent the spread of avian influenza and any human infections.

"We should concretely enhance our sense of urgency and responsibility in the prevention and control of the highly pathogenic bird flu," said Hui, who heads a national working team on the prevention and control of the disease, at a national conference.

Hui said the disease has become the number one killer for China's poultry husbandry and a major threat to public health and security.

"We must be clear-headed about this, conduct scientific assessment and make ample preparations for it. We should by no means slacken our vigilance," said Hui.

He stressed the necessity to put the interests of the people first, give priorities to prevention, improve contingency arrangements and implement a responsibility system.

Hui listed several tasks that need to be done, including beefing up monitoring, alert and forecast systems, improving contingency plans and arrangements, enhancing immunization, strengthening international exchange and cooperation, and maintaining a sound market environment for healthy poultry and related products.

Meanwhile, efforts should be made to establish a prevention and control mechanism with long-lasting effects, he said.

He added that funds for animal epidemic prevention should be increased, a team of veterinarians well trained and maintained, research into epidemic prevention and control technology enhanced, and vaccines and medicines prepared and stored up in advance.

"The mode of operation of poultry husbandry should also be modified to ensure sustained and healthy development of the sector," said Hui.

Liaoning culls 6 million poultry
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Six million poultry have been culled in the bird flu-hit county of Heishan, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, the local government said on Sunday.

The cull lasted from Saturday evening to Sunday noon, with all poultry slaughtered within a radius of three kilometers of the epidemic site, said Wang Yunwen, deputy secretary-general of the Jinzhou municipal government.

Local farmers actively cooperated with the government, he said.

The farmers were being compensated for the culling. The county allocated 9.6 million yuan (US$1.16 million) to the townships on Sunday, he added.

Niu Dun, vice minister of agriculture, arrived at the county with eleven experts. Three of them gave lectures on bird flu prevention to about 150 grassroots officials on Sunday.

The local publicity department is also producing CDs of the lectures and publishing booklets on bird flu prevention for distribution among people living in the affected areas.

Local farmers found some chickens dying in Badaohao Township and reported to the local government. The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the case as H5N1 bird flu on Thursday.

Heishan is located on the migratory birds' route from East Asia to Australia, and more than 20 magpies and other wild birds have been found dead from the disease.

(Xinhua News Agency November 7, 2005)