China's health authorities have confirmed on Wednesday the first
two human cases of bird flu in the country.
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The two confirmed cases involve a nine-year-old boy in Xiangtan
County, Hunan Province, and a 24-year-old woman in Zongyang County,
Anhui Province.
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The boy has been discharged from hospital. The woman died on
November 10.
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The boy's 12-year-old sister, who had similar symptoms as her
brother and died on October 17, was reported by the Ministry of
Health as "a suspected human case" of bird flu infection.
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The experts from the ministry suspected that the girl had been
infected with H5N1 strain of bird flu, but could not confirm it due
to insufficient blood samples for laboratory tests, the ministry
said on Wednesday.
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Roy Wadia, the World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman in
Beijing, told Xinhua that by strict definition, the girl in Hunan
could not be confirmed as a human case as the samples collected
from her were too limited.
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"It is not surprising to see human cases of bird flu in China," he
said.
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"While any 'first' is, of course, symbolic, in purely medical and
scientific terms this particular instance is more of a reiteration
and continuation of the existing bird flu scenario in this part of
the world than something that is completely 'new'", Wadia
added.
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It also indicates the ongoing challenge countries face in raising
public awareness -- especially at the rural, backyard farmers'
level -- of the dangers posed by avian flu, he said.
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Hours before the confirmation was made, the Chinese government
decided to reduce the taxes for businesses or individuals that
raise, process or sell poultry, a move aimed at boosting public
morale.
To date, 11 outbreaks around the country have been
reported.
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The decision was made at a State Council executive meeting, which
adopted nine measures and promised continued financial subsidies
for vaccinating and culling poultry in bird flu-hit areas and
building up modern breeding farms to prevent poultry from living
side by side with humans.
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The government also promised to refund value-added tax on all
poultry products until the middle of next year.
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Meanwhile, the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine on Wednesday issued an emergency circular
to the country's entry and exit ports, urging them to strengthen
prevention and control efforts against human infections of bird
flu.
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It requires all passengers to complete health information forms
when entering and leaving the mainland. The circular also calls for
the resumption of body temperature checks at Shenzhen and Zhuhai
ports in south China.
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The H5N1 strain of the virus has killed more than 60 people around
the world since 2003 and is endemic in poultry flocks in many parts
of Asia.
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In the two most recent outbreaks in Xinjiang, a total of 322,500
reared birds were culled and all poultry and poultry products
markets within ten kilometers of the affected villages have been
closed.
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On Tuesday, China announced plans to vaccinate its more than 14
billion farm birds, following Premier Wen's remarks last week that
the country was "facing a serious situation" in controlling bird
flu during his inspection tour of a bird flu-hit county in Liaoning
Province, northeast China.
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China has strong political commitment at the central government
level in combating bird flu -- recent steps and statements have
made that abundantly clear -- but translating this into action at
the provincial and rural levels will be key, Wadia said.
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(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)