Experts from the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) here Thursday said that China's bird flu
prevention work is "appropriate and professional" after they
concluded an inspection tour of the nation's first bird flu case
site in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomou Region.
Xu Ji, assistant FAO representative to China, made the remark in
his talk with officials of the local government, after he and
Laurence Gleeson, another FAO expert, completed their two-day
inspection in Guangxi.
Gleeson, an FAO consultant and senior animal disease expert,
called China's bird flu prevention and control work "appropriate"
Wednesday after field research was completed at Yong'anli Village,
less than 2 km from the site infected with bird flu. The team
investigated the culling and vaccinating of local poultry, and
related compensation work.
The two experts Thursday morning learned in detail about the
technical training and sample test procedures at the Guangxi animal
epidemic prevention station. They checked original records on the
sampling and testing of the first bird flu case, and inquired about
the use of vaccine.
Xu and Gleeson later held talks with officials from the Guangxi
aquatic and animal husbandry bureau, the center for disease
prevention and control, and the forestry bureau. The FAO experts
were informed of Guangxi's animal epidemic control system, its
operation, and measures that have been taken to prevent the spread
of bird flu between animals, and possibly from animals to
humans.
Gleeson was especially interested in the flight route of
migratory birds in Guangxi, which has over 530 bird species, 140 of
which are migratory. No certain conclusion has been reached so far
on the source of the bird flu virus, but scientists are doing
research to find out if migratory birds were responsible.
This is the first time for the FAO to send experts to bird
flu-affected areas in the country after the first case of Highly
Pathogenic Avian Influenza was reported in Guangxi at the end of
January.
The two experts left Guangxi Thursday afternoon to fly to
Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, where they will continue their
investigation work.
(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2004)