China, a victim of bird flu, has taken a series of measures against the disease and made new progress, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday.

China has amended the law on pandemic prevention and control and promulgated emergency rules to deal with the outbreak of serious animal diseases according to law, When told an ongoing conference to pool financial support for bird flu prevention and control.

The establishment of a surveillance and early warning system covering all provinces has helped control the spread of bird flu, he said.

The coordination mechanism between agriculture, public health, quality supervision and animal quarantine, and forestry departments and between various regions improved the epidemic reporting system and strengthened the "concerted efforts" in bird flu prevention and control.

Through the media, the government keeps the general public aware of the disease cases and situation, prevention knowledge and corresponding measures.

The government has formulated policies on free vaccine, compensation for farmers in bird flu-affected areas who have their fowls culled, and the support for poultry raising, the premier said.

Relying on science and technology to lift the level of bird flu prevention, the country has enhanced the research into bird flu diagnosis, epidemiology and new types of vaccine for birds, with new progress achieved in the fields of vaccine and medicine for humans and the monitoring of migratory birds.

China has also strengthened professional training of grassroots medical workers to improve their ability to detect, control and treat epidemic diseases, Wen said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2006)