The WHO said yesterday that it will send experts to the central province of Hunan this week to investigate three possible cases of human avian influenza infection there, and that more information would be released to the media after meetings with Chinese authorities.

"I think both the Ministry of Health and WHO prefer that the investigation be carried out and then a press conference held to discuss the outcome," said Roy Wadia, the organization's China office spokesperson. "In any case, the meetings in Hunan will be mainly behind closed doors."

Xinhua News Agency today quoted Wang Yu, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as saying that inviting WHO experts aimed at ensuring more transparent, timely communication and technical cooperation with the international body.

The WHO experts, currently in Beijing, have begun providing technical support to the laboratory side of the investigation, according to Wadia.

The human cases in Hunan, one of which was fatal, were diagnosed as "pneumonia of an unknown cause" but the possibility of infection from the H5N1 strain of bird flu has not been ruled out as all three had close contact with dead poultry.

The Hunan outbreak was one of eight confirmed in China since October 19. Four others were in the northeastern province of Liaoning, and one each in east China's Anhui Province, central China's Hubei Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

A panel of seven experts from the provincial veterinary and disease control departments said yesterday that the quarantine of the affected area of Hunan should be lifted since it has been more than 14 days since poultry were vaccinated and no new cases have been reported for 21 consecutive days, in line with Ministry of Agriculture criteria.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2005)