Jia Youling, National Chief Veterinary Officer, said no new suspected case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was reported in China for 15 days in a row by Dec. 13, and quarantine ban has been lifted in 23 affected areas.

"We are fully capable of effectively containing the spread of bird flu in China," he said in Beijing Wednesday at a press conference.

In 2005, 30 cases of HPAI outbreak were confirmed in China, including one case of migratory bird infection in the northwest Qinghai Province. Since October, 26 cases of bird flu have been confirmed in 9 provinces or autonomous regions.

Jia, director of Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said active vaccination policy has been carried out in the Chinese mainland to prevent bird flu, and all domestic birds will be vaccinated gradually.

"The national average poultry vaccination intensity is above 80 percent, and efforts are still made in all areas to vaccinate the remaining birds," he said.

According to statistics, 6.85 billion domestic birds have been vaccinated this year, with more than 5 billion vaccinated since October.

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2005)