--- SEARCH ---
WEATHER
CHINA
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
CULTURE
GOVERNMENT
SCI-TECH
ENVIRONMENT
SPORTS
LIFE
PEOPLE
TRAVEL
WEEKLY REVIEW
Learning Chinese
Learn to Cook Chinese Dishes
Exchange Rates
Hotel Service
China Calendar


Hot Links
China Development Gateway
Chinese Embassies


Encouragement of Flu Antiviral Misuse Denied

A Ministry of Agriculture official yesterday denied a report in Saturday's Washington Post that the government had encouraged farmers to use amantadine, meant for humans, in poultry since the 1990s to prevent avian flu.

"We'll take measures soon to curb the action," said Xu Shixin, division director of the ministry's veterinary bureau, and inspection teams will be dispatched nationwide to stop it being used in this way.

Researchers fear using the drug in animals could lead to drug resistance, making it useless in treating humans in the event of an epidemic. Drug-resistant forms of the H5N1 strain of avian flu virus have already been found in Thailand and Vietnam, according to reports.

How widespread the practice has been was not clear, but Xu maintained that "the government has never permitted farmers to use amantadine to treat bird flu."

WHO spokesperson Roy Wadia said his organization would seek more information from the government.

Zhang Zhongjun, from the UN Food & Agriculture Organization's China office, said they have already set up a channel with the government to report developments in the fight against infectious diseases in animals.

"We haven't received any reports so far that the government has allowed the use of the drug on chickens," said Zhang.

China has made breakthroughs in vaccine research against the H5N1 and H5N2 strains of bird flu, and they work effectively in poultry, he said.

Xu said the government would supply farmers with cheaper and more effective vaccines to replace the use of amantadine by some farmers.

He also said that the bird flu outbreaks in Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have already been brought under control.

(China Daily June 21, 2005)

Avian Influenza Infection Under Control in Xinjiang
New Vaccines Developed to Stop Spread of Bird Flu
No New Bird Flu Cases in Qinghai
Qinghai Poultry Bird Flu Vaccinations
Emergency Measures Taken to Curb Bird Flu
Bird Flu Virus Not Mutating: Official
No Human Infection or New Bird Flu Cases Reported
Print This Page
|
Email This Page
About Us SiteMap Feedback
Copyright © China Internet Information Center. All Rights Reserved
E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-68326688