Flu China's denial

Discussion in 'Survival Medicine' started by E.L., Dec 14, 2005.


  1. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051203-094414-4342r

    China's bird flu cover-up denied


    BEIJING: China said yesterday there was no Sars-like cover-up surrounding bird flu and said the nation was "capable" of stopping the deadly disease from spreading easily among humans. Health Minister Gao Qiang said there would be no repeat of the 2003 scenario in which local governments did not openly report accurate figures about the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) until months after the outbreaks.

    "There's no such covering up of bird flu transmissions in China," Gao told reporters at a news briefing.

    Gao said authorities in China would be able to prevent the disease from spreading easily among humans.

    "We have the determination and the capability to control the large scale spread of bird flu to humans," he said.

    Gao, however, acknowledged there were still weak links in the nation's prevention system, saying the ability of health officials at local levels might not be high enough to detect cases in a timely manner.

    "Gao also said the total number of outbreaks had reached 30 in China this year, affecting 11 provinces.

    The agriculture ministry announced yesterday a 30th outbreak in Xinyuan county in the nation's westernmost Xinjiang region.

    Some 300 farm raised birds died in the Biesituobie village on November 24, leading to the culling of some 1.18 million farm raised birds within a three kilometer radius of the village, the ministry said.

    In Jakarta, a dead Indonesian woman has tested positive for bird flu but there was no evidence two brothers were victims of the avian influenza virus, the health ministry said.

    The World Health Organisation expressed concern over the case of the two brothers who died this month just days before their 16-year-old sibling was admitted to hospital infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus.

    The WHO said it could not rule out human-to-human transmission but was hampered by a lack of evidence.

    Kenya said that no cases of bird flu had been found in the country, which lies on a migration path for birds that may be carrying the disease. Kenya's government said tests done on seven birds that died in Kericho, about 210km northwest of Nairobi, were negative.
     
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