China reports latest bird flu outbreak in far west

BEIJING (Reuters) – China reported a bird flu outbreak in
the remote western region of Xinjiang, bringing to 21 the
number of outbreaks since mid-October.

China, which said late Wednesday that a second person had
died of the deadly H5N1 virus, has already culled more than 20
million birds this year to contain the spread of the disease.

The new outbreak occurred at a family farm when 2,000 birds
died on November 15, but H5N1 was not confirmed until
Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on
its Web site (www.agri.gov.cn).

Authorities have culled 84,000 birds within a 2 mile radius
of the outbreak, the ministry said, in line with standard
practice.

China has bought in police and army units to hold back to
spread of bird flu, and has threatened fines and other
punishments for local officials and people who cover up disease
outbreaks or obstruct prevention efforts.

The government has also announced plans to vaccinate
billions of birds and state media has said that a human vaccine
is ready for clinical trials.

H5N1 has killed nearly 70 people in Asia since late 2003 —
mainly in Vietnam and Thailand. But the real fear is that it
will mutate and acquire the ability to pass from human to
human, causing a global pandemic.

China has confirmed three human cases of bird flu. The
third person, a nine-year-old boy, recovered. His dead sister
is a suspected case.