Northeast China's Jilin Province has decided to invest 10 million yuan (about US$1.2 million) in bird flu prevention and control, said a senior local official Sunday.

The province set up the fund to better ensure the success of prevention, supervision and emergency operations related to the bird flu, said Li Bin, deputy governor of the province, which borders the bird flu-afflicted Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Liaoning Province.

In addition, local governments at different levels will also appropriate relevant funds ranging from 200,000 yuan (US$24,691) to 500,000 yuan (US$61,728) for the campaign, Li said.

"We must try our best to prevent the outbreak of the highly pathogenic bird flu in Jilin," said the vice governor, urging the local governments at all levels to take effective measures to keep the disease out of the province.

Since the outbreak of bird flu among birds in its neighbouring regions, Jilin has taken a series of measures, including poultry vaccination and monitoring, to prevent outbreak of the bird flu as well as human infection of the virus.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2005)