By Song Liyun

The British weekly magazine New Scientist recently carried a story claiming that bird flu probably originated in China as early as in the first half of 2003. “This is completely groundless,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) has said already that it is too early to target any country as the source of the disease.

Zhang said that China hoped that all countries would take a scientific attitude towards the epidemic.

At a regular Foreign Ministry press conference on January 29, Zhang said claims that China was the source of the Southeast Asian bird flu outbreak are incorrect, unfounded and unscientific, and therefore irresponsible.

Avian influenza is a disease which humans have known about for 100 years, Zhang said. “We believe that this highly contagious disease is a worldwide problem,” she noted. It has been a topic of interest and research for scientists, both in China and abroad.

The sources and infection channels of the disease follow epidemiological patterns. Therefore, sufficient experimentation and research are required to understand its source and ways of spreading, she explained.

Zhang emphasized that the Chinese government and relevant authorities attach great importance to solving the problem. The Chinese government regards the disease as a significant public health threat, and public health must be made a priority, she said. She revealed that no Chinese has been inflected by the disease so far.

Zhang went on to say that state leaders have instructed the relevant departments and the authorities in different parts of the country to take practical preventive measures to contain the epidemic. The Chinese government has meanwhile taken a range of resolute legal and scientific measures in this regard.

According to a BBC report which came out about the same time, a WHO spokeswoman said that the deadly bird flu probably erupted in April 2003, but she denied that China was the source of the virus.

The WHO official said that the WHO tests of the virus samples collected in April last year had proved that the samples contained the Avian influenza A (H5N1) now spreading in Asian countries. She refused to reveal their origin, but pointed out that the samples were not from China. According to the WHO, bird flu has many causes, the investigation of which is still under way.

China’s Vice Minister of Agriculture Qi Jingfa also commented on the New Scientist report by saying “It is nothing but a conjecture.” He urged all Asian countries to cooperate closely in the fight against the epidemic. “Only in this way can mankind eliminate the threat from such infectious diseases as bird flu,” he said.

(China.org.cn February 2, 2004)