Rapid Diffusion of Bird Flu Expected in China

Rapid Diffusion of Bird Flu Expected in China. January. 28, 2004 23:26. by Sung-Kyu Kim kimsk@donga.com.

In the third largest chicken exporting country in the world, China, where 46 percent of all the eggs in the world are produced, consecutive bird flu cases have been detected, AFP News reported on January 27.

Although the areas where bird flu broke out are converged in the southern part of the continent, the experts are anxious about the problematic disease being diffused to the other regions.

Quoting the remarks of the Chinese official, AFP News has reported that a bird flu case was found in a duck farm in Guangxi province, and another case was discovered Tuesday in Hunan province where a group of poultry was perished due to the fatal bird flu virus. In Hubei province, a suspicious bird flu case was also found.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Agriculture has banned poultry imports from China on January 28. Other types of birds and related products are also prohibited from entry.

Including China, the number of the countries where the bird flu was confirmed has increased to 10, including Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Pakistan, and Korea.

In Vietnam, two additional victims who died because of the fatal virus were officially confirmed, increasing the death toll to eight in Vietnam alone. The number of victims killed by the bird flu has been augmented to 16 so far, including eight Thais. (six suspicious patients)

On January 27 in Thailand, the infected areas spread from 13 provinces to 21 in a single day. In Bangkok, as the number of victims is increasing, four outer areas were designated as “Highly Dangerous Areas.”

World Health Organization representatives from various countries such as Korea, China, Japan, and the southeastern Asian countries participated in an urgent conference held in Bangkok in order to reduce the damages caused by the bird flu disease.