China Witholding Bird Flu Information From World Health Organization
By ALEXA OLESEN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 20, 2005; 2:50 AM
BEIJING -- China hasn't responded to urgent appeals by the World Health Organization to share data about wild birds killed by avian flu, an official said Wednesday, as fears mounted that other birds might spread the disease when they migrate to other countries.
Authorities also haven't responded to a WHO request to be allowed to visit the Xinjiang region in China's northwest, where there have been reports of a bird flu outbreak along the border with Kazakhstan, said Roy Wadia, a spokesman for WHO's Beijing office.
Chinese authorities have yet to release samples gathered in the western province of Qinghai, where at least 6,000 migratory birds have died, Wadia said.
"It would be useful if information on the virus was shared with the international agencies concerning bird flu, or if it were deposited at gene banks as per the usual procedures in these cases," Wadia said.
China's Ministry of Agriculture didn't immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment.
China's failure to respond to foreign appeals for cooperation has prompted fears that the outbreak might be bigger and more dangerous than reported.
Wadia said the sequencing of the virus' DNA was "very important" because it could help experts confirm whether the strain affecting birds in Qinghai was new or an old one with minor mutations. Chinese tests have confirmed that it is a strain of H5N1.
Over the last two years, hundreds of millions of birds, including poultry and wild birds, have died or been slaughtered across Asia because of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which also has infected some humans, killing more than 55 people in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, which reported three new human deaths from bird flu Wednesday.
Health experts have warned that migratory geese and gulls in Qinghai could be poised to spread the virus to India, Australia, New Zealand and eventually Europe when they fly south this summer.
"We believe some birds may have already started migrating," Wadia said. He said large-scale migrations are expected in August.
Wadia said WHO has raised these and other concerns during monthly meetings with Chinese officials but there has been no response yet from the Chinese side.
Migratory birds have not been susceptible to bird flu in the past, and the outbreak of H5N1 among a huge population of wild birds has raised fears that a new more virulent form of the virus has emerged.
The outbreak was first detected about two months ago in bar-headed geese at a saltwater lake in Qinghai, a breeding site for birds that spend the winter in Southeast Asia, Tibet and India. The virus also infected brown-headed gulls and great black-headed gulls.
The H5N1 virus has been entrenched in poultry in Southeast Asia since 2003 and has infected people who come in contact with sick chickens.
Experts fear that the virus will mutate into a strain that can jump directly from person to person, unleashing a deadly pandemic.
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 20, 2005; 2:50 AM
BEIJING -- China hasn't responded to urgent appeals by the World Health Organization to share data about wild birds killed by avian flu, an official said Wednesday, as fears mounted that other birds might spread the disease when they migrate to other countries.
Authorities also haven't responded to a WHO request to be allowed to visit the Xinjiang region in China's northwest, where there have been reports of a bird flu outbreak along the border with Kazakhstan, said Roy Wadia, a spokesman for WHO's Beijing office.
Chinese authorities have yet to release samples gathered in the western province of Qinghai, where at least 6,000 migratory birds have died, Wadia said.
"It would be useful if information on the virus was shared with the international agencies concerning bird flu, or if it were deposited at gene banks as per the usual procedures in these cases," Wadia said.
China's Ministry of Agriculture didn't immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment.
China's failure to respond to foreign appeals for cooperation has prompted fears that the outbreak might be bigger and more dangerous than reported.
Wadia said the sequencing of the virus' DNA was "very important" because it could help experts confirm whether the strain affecting birds in Qinghai was new or an old one with minor mutations. Chinese tests have confirmed that it is a strain of H5N1.
Over the last two years, hundreds of millions of birds, including poultry and wild birds, have died or been slaughtered across Asia because of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which also has infected some humans, killing more than 55 people in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, which reported three new human deaths from bird flu Wednesday.
Health experts have warned that migratory geese and gulls in Qinghai could be poised to spread the virus to India, Australia, New Zealand and eventually Europe when they fly south this summer.
"We believe some birds may have already started migrating," Wadia said. He said large-scale migrations are expected in August.
Wadia said WHO has raised these and other concerns during monthly meetings with Chinese officials but there has been no response yet from the Chinese side.
Migratory birds have not been susceptible to bird flu in the past, and the outbreak of H5N1 among a huge population of wild birds has raised fears that a new more virulent form of the virus has emerged.
The outbreak was first detected about two months ago in bar-headed geese at a saltwater lake in Qinghai, a breeding site for birds that spend the winter in Southeast Asia, Tibet and India. The virus also infected brown-headed gulls and great black-headed gulls.
The H5N1 virus has been entrenched in poultry in Southeast Asia since 2003 and has infected people who come in contact with sick chickens.
Experts fear that the virus will mutate into a strain that can jump directly from person to person, unleashing a deadly pandemic.
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