Chinese news stories

A lot of bird flu news these days. We decided not to do a play by play, but we'll clear up the China news as a public service. We'll start with reports from UPI (via Only Punjab):

China's minister of health Sunday said the country has brought avian influenza under control.

At the Shanghai Healthy City Forum, Gao Qiang said no new cases have been reported in 10 days in the area hardest hit by bird flu, Heishan County in Liaonang in northeast China, Xinhua, the official government news agency, reported.

"The spread of bird flu virus is caused mainly by migratory birds, and their migration has almost completed," Gao said.

At the Shanghai Healthy City Forum, Gao Qiang said no new cases have been reported in 10 days in the area hardest hit by bird flu, Heishan County in Liaonang in northeast China, Xinhua, the official government news agency, reported.

"The spread of bird flu virus is caused mainly by migratory birds, and their migration has almost completed," Gao said.

Good, I understand that. Things are under control. The same newspaper, the next day:

China reported today two new outbreaks of bird flu in which almost 3,700 poultry died and more than 7,000 were culled as provinces hit by the deadly virus tightened preventive measures.

About 3,500 geese died at a family farm in a development zone in Shishou city in the central province of Hubei, the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that 3,800 poultry were slaughtered within a radius of 3 km (2 miles).

In the northern region of Inner Mongolia, 176 domestic poultry died and 3,202 poultry were culled, Xinhua said. It gave no further details.

The agency quoted Health Minister Gao Qiang as saying China has basically brought bird flu under control.

Still under control. I think.

China ordered already strict anti-bird flu measures tightened on Monday following two new outbreaks in poultry, while Romania said it would destroy 2,000 farm birds after finding the virus in hens and North Korea tightened border controls.

"There is a growing threat to human health," Yin Chengjie, a deputy Chinese agriculture minister, said at a news conference.

[snip]

China's latest outbreaks were its 16th and 17th in poultry in recent weeks and came despite a nationwide effort to vaccinate billions of poultry against the virulent H5N1 strain of the virus.

Yin, the Chinese official, warned that the disease's virulence, or its ability to cause illness, appeared to be increasing. He pointed to rising numbers of cases in ducks and geese, while earlier outbreaks were limited to chickens.

"It shows the increasing virulence of avian influenza," he said.

Yin and other officials announced new rules requiring local Chinese officials to set up disease-warning networks and to stockpile disinfectant and other emergency supplies. Officials who fail to pinpoint and report outbreaks quickly face firing or jail.

The latest Chinese outbreaks in the northern region of Inner Mongolia and the central province of Hubei killed a total of 3,676 chickens, ducks and geese, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said authorities destroyed a total of 7,002 birds to contain the outbreaks. (AP)

Uh, oh.

The bird flu crisis in China is "severe" and set to get worse as winter deepens, the government said on Monday as it revealed there had been 21 outbreaks in the world's most populous country this year.

Officials made the grim assessment as they announced that China's cabinet, the State Council, had adopted tough emergency laws requiring local governments and people to respond quickly to bird flu and other animal diseases.

The 21 outbreaks occurred in nine provinces in China, affecting 45 villages and causing the deaths of 144,624 birds, while a further 21.1 mn have been culled, Vice Agriculture Minister Yin Chengjie said.
"Although some cases in affected areas have been controlled effectively, the whole situation of avian flu control is still severe," Yin told reporters at a briefing.

"The task ahead of us is still arduous."

China had previously announced 19 outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus this year, including 17 since October 19, 2005.

With the world's biggest poultry industry —14 billion fowls produced each year — China faces a crisis that is far from over, Yin warned.

He said the danger was expected to grow as temperatures dropped across the nation throughout winter, making it easier for viruses to stay alive.

"The colder the weather is, the higher the risk of epidemics breaking out," Yin said.

Controlling the outbreaks is also getting more difficult as the bird flu gets more virulent, he said.

"The virulence of bird flu can not only lead to the deaths of chickens but can also affect water fowl such as ducks and geese," he said.

"This situation was hard to find in the past."

Yin also admitted that "backward" farming methods in China, with poultry being raised alongside livestock in family farms, also made controlling the spread of H5N1 "difficult."

Grassroots-level prevention was also "lagging," he said.

The new emergency regulations, adopted on November 16, 2005 outline the obligations of every level of government, as well as people and companies, when faced with a potential bird flu outbreak.

Yin said the new laws require the reporting of outbreaks in a timely manner, dealing with them "promptly and resolutely," and being fully prepared with adequate financial resources, medical supplies and personnel.

"For any cases of false reporting or late reporting, severe punishment will be applied," Yin said. (Sify)

Did someone say punishment?

China unveiled new rules to combat bird flu on Monday, threatening fines and police action against people who do not cooperate.

[snip]

Bird flu outbreaks have to be reported to the State Council, or cabinet, within four hours of being discovered by regional governments, and fines of up to 5,000 yuan ($620) can be levied for obstructing prevention work or refusing to comply.

"Any practices which affect the reporting of epidemic diseases, including deception, false or late reporting, are forbidded," Yin said.

If needed, the police and even the army may be called in. Officials could be demoted or fired for not reporting outbreaks.

Quarantine measures have also been stepped up in China, and even North Korea said on Monday it was was tightening border controls to stop bird flu.

"China is a large country, and there have been some places where there has been a lack of compliance," said Cao Kangtai, head of the State Council's laws and regulations office.

"Only by taking such severe measures can we guarantee the prevention work," Cao later told Reuters. (Reuters)

OK. Everything's obviously under control.