A new batch of avian flu virus samples from China will be delivered to international laboratories designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) within the next few weeks.

 

The consignment, as agreed between the Chinese government and the WHO at the end of 2005, will consist of 20 samples, much more than the five samples delivered in 2004.

 

The announcement was made by Shigeru Omi, regional director of WHO Western Pacific, during a two-day conference in Beijing. "China has done a very, very good job," Omi said.

 

According to Julie Hall, coordinator of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response at the WHO Beijing office, regular sharing of information among countries, the global health body and other international organizations is an effective weapon against the virus, which is fast mutating.

 

Such sharing of information is vital for research, including developing a vaccine against a possible pandemic.

 

Because there have been regular outbreaks among poultry as well as human infections in China, samples, laboratory results and knowledge of field practices would be useful for the rest of the world, she added.

 

The scheduled delivery, however, will contain only virus samples from bird flu outbreaks in poultry, as was the case in 2004. All samples of the avian flu virus are kept under tight surveillance at the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province in northeast China.

 

Mao Qun'an, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, told China Daily that China had provided two virus samples from human infections in December 2005, after the cases were first reported in October.

 

(China Daily March 24, 2006)