A spokesman for China's Ministry of Health on Tuesday confirmed
there is no evidence to suggest that China's bird flu virus has
mutated to a form that can spread between humans.
"We have not found any proof of a match between the avian flu
virus and the human flu virus," said Mao Qun'an in an interview
with Xinhua.
Studies show that the avian flu virus isolated from China's
human cases still bears distinct avian features far removed from
the human flu virus.
There are no geographical or chronological links between the 12
human cases found on the Chinese mainland since last October.
All the victims developed severe symptoms of pneumonia, most of
which soon led to respiratory failure and deterioration of other
organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys, he said.
"The reasons for the high mortality rate in areas where no bird
flu was found was due to insufficient knowledge of grassroots
health workers as well as patients, which resulted in belated
detection and treatment," Mao told Xinhua.
More research has been carried out by scientific teams to trace
the origins of the bird flu virus, and training of rural grassroots
health workers has been improved, according to the spokesman.
On the other hand, the ministry has called on more publicity to
raise public awareness of the disease, telling them to have less
contact with sick or dead poultry and to report symptoms quickly,
he said.
China has announced 12 human cases of bird flu since last
October, resulting in eight deaths. Globally, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has recorded 170 human cases, including 92
deaths.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2006)