The World Health Organization has appealed to China to take more urgent action to control the spread of bird flu. The WHO appeal came as the Chinese government reported two new suspected outbreaks in two provinces, central Hubei and southern Guangzhou, on Saturday.

The WHO called on the Chinese government to share more information about the disease and step up monitoring for possible human cases. At the WHO's Beijing office, an official warned about the serious situation in China.

WHO Spokesman Roy Wadia said: "We've seen that of course the outbreak has occurred and some are confirmed and it seems to be spreading fast. That's why we urge that at this time, even now, there is still a window of opportunity, if you will, but that is already shrinking quiet fast."

The local authorities say the latest outbreaks in Hubei and Guangdong provinces are under control after slaughter and quarantine measures were taken. China also confirmed cases in the central province of Hunan and announced suspected cases in Shanghai and Anhui province of East China on Friday. The Chinese authorities have reported no human cases of the disease.

China has reported five more areas with suspected cases of the deadly bird flu virus in poultry. That brings to 11 the total number of suspected and confirmed outbreaks on the mainland.

The Ministry of Agriculture says fowls have been culled in the eastern province of Zhejiang, the central provinces of Hubei and Henan, the southwestern province of Yunnan and northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Samples have been sent to the National Bird Flu Laboratory for testing and no human infections have been reported.

(CCTV.com February 2, 2004)