Following is a brief introduction to bird flu by Jia Youling,
chief expert on farming of the Ministry of Agriculture.
What is bird flu?
Jia: Bird flu is an infectious disease caused by a form of
influenza virus. The disease is mainly found in fowl such as
chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons.
How is the disease confirmed?
Jia: The process of confirmation will usually follow four steps.
First, experts diagnose dead birds on site and through
epidemiological methods make an initial judgment if the death is
caused by suspected strain of bird flu virus. Secondly, serological
methods may be applied for a detailed checkup. Then, the national
bird flu reference lab works out final confirmation after further
examination. In the end, the Ministry of Agriculture will
officially acknowledge the disease based on report of the lab.
Can the disease be prevented and
controlled?
Jia: Prevention work against bird flu dates back over 100 years
and many nations have accumulated valuable experience, which proves
the feasibility of preventing a serious outbreak.
The disease can be controlled if effective measures are taken to
block the affected area, kill all the infected poultry and sanitize
affected areas.
What measures did the government take after the case in
Guangxi was reported?
Jia: As soon as the disease was reported, local governments
immediately blocked the affected site, slaughtered all the poultry
within three kilometers radius of the duck farm in Dingdang town of
Long'an county, Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region and vaccinated all the poultry within
five kilometers radius of the site. All these were conducted in
line with China's Law on Animal Epidemic Prevention and regulations
of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Under the direction of the State Council, the Ministry will make
painstaking efforts to monitor the situation and prevent further
spread of the disease. The Ministry is willing to strengthen
exchange and cooperation with relevant world organizations. The
Ministry has also made appropriate arrangements for prevention work
in other areas.
(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2004)