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No SARS or Bird Flu cases in China

Possibilities of bird flu outbreaks reduced

UPDATED: 08:17, March 20, 2006

As long as the immunization policy is carried out properly, the possibilities for an outbreak of bird flu in many areas will be remarkably reduced, said Jia Youling, national chief veterinary officer, on Saturday in Beijing.

At a press conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture, Jia said the country has provided 2.967 billion vaccines to local departments to stem the spread of bird flu.

Most of the areas will be well prepared by the time migratory birds fly north in mid-April, Jia said.

At the same time, relevant departments are ready to make new vaccines to cope with any variants of the virus, he said, adding the vaccine that has been developed can prevent the current virus.

"The most crucial measure is that all fowls must be injected with the vaccine," he said.

Since China took such measures from October 2005, the spread of bird flu has been contained. Three outbreaks have been confirmed so far this year, 46 less than during the same period in 2004. The 35 cases reported in 2005 have all been controlled.

As the virus can easily spread during spring, the ministry has urged local departments to ensure the above measures are implemented, Jia said.

The ministry has sent 28 supervisory groups to different regions of the country to inspect their work, and the preparation is satisfactory, he said.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200603/19/eng20060319_251781.html

No pig infected with bird flu in China: ministry

UPDATED: 08:28, August 24, 2004

The Ministry of Agriculture published a press release Monday, saying that China paid great importance to the prevention and control of bird flu.

Since the beginning of this year after the outbreak of bird flu in the country, the ministry had launched a large-scale monitoring project across the country, carried out pathogenic and serological check on over 1.1 million samples of poultry and some samples of pigs. The result showed that there was no pig infected by bird flu virus.

The officials said that the ministry had reported the results to international organizations, like Food and Agricultural Organization and World Health Organizations.

The released said that an expert mentioned China's finding of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in pigs in 2003 and had published the research results openly at the beginning of this year. Relative international research shows that bird flu virus could not only infect poultry, but also mammal animals.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200408/23/eng20040823_154421.html

New bird flu case confirmed in east China

UPDATED: 08:07, July 07, 2004

The national bird flu reference laboratory confirmed on Tuesday that the latest death of chickens in east China's Anhui province was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus.

The case happened at a chicken farm of the Juchao District, Chaohu City, east Anhui Province.

Officials with the Ministry of Agriculture said that the ministry received the report of chicken death on July 3 and soon dispatched a group of experts to the affected area to guide relevant works of prevention and control of the disease.

Sources from the ministry said that the local government has made necessary measures of slaughter or quarantine to prevent a spread, and sent samples to the authorities. It has also isolated the area following the death report in accordance with China's Lawon Animal Epidemic Prevention.

The local health authority killed all the poultry within a 3 kmradius of the chicken farm and vaccinated all the poultry within a5 km radius of the affected area.

Experts of the ministry said the farm is located on a slope in a rather separate environment close to the wide Chaohu Lake and all the chicks are bought from the local markets, where no avian flu case had been reported before.

The experts estimated that the virus might be spread by migrants or wild water birds.

The ministry has informed the case to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, World Health Organization (WHO), relevant authorities of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

The ministry confirmed the first contraction of H5N1 strain of bird flu on January 27 at a duck farm in the Dingdang Township, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

On March 16, the authority lifted quarantine on the last two affected areas in Lhasa of Tibet and Nanning, Guangxi's capital city.

During the period of time, altogether 49 cases of bird flu were confirmed and controlled. So far, no human contraction was reported.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200407/07/eng20040707_148710.html

Lab infection blamed for China's SARS outbreak

www.chinaview.cn 2004-07-01 21:10:03

Related: Disease control chief resigns for SARS lab infection

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhuanet) -- A laboratory with China's national disease control and prevention center was found to be the source of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) during April and May of this year, health officials said Thursday.

Addressing a meeting held by the Ministry of Health at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials said investigation by the ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Sciences and Technology determined laboratory infection was to blame for the outbreak. Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi was present at the meeting.

Officials said poor lab safety management and irregular operations by professionals resulted in the pollution of a laboratory and SARS virus infection of some lab staff members, which constitutes a major accident due to negligence.

The Diarrhea Virus Laboratory under the Institute of Virus Diseases of the center was found to have conducted SARS virus research adopting untested methods to kill the virus in an ordinary lab, according to the report.

The lab failed to report to higher authorities the fact when unusual health conditions were detected among some of their staff members, it said.

The Ministry of Health said has decided to accept the resignation of the director and a vice-director of the center.

It also decided to remove the director and a vice-director of the institute and head of the Diarrhea Virus Laboratory from theiroffices.

Vice-Premier Wu Yi told the meeting, which was attended by staff members of the center, that the accident caused harm to the health of people and damage to the social and economic development.

Handling of the accident reflects the responsibility of the Party and the central government and the importance they attached to the health and safety of scientific researchers, said Wu.

Efforts should be made to prevent it from happening again, shesaid.

Wu said China would step up its efforts to formulate laws and regulations on laboratory bio-safety, and improve work conditions for researchers to protect their health and safety and prevent the spread of disease.

Sources with the ministry said those health officials punished include Li Liming, who was director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

A total of nine people were confirmed as SARS patients during April and May. The nine cases included two from Anhui Province, east China and seven from Beijing.

Beijing reported China's first suspected SARS case of this year on April 22 and the patient surnamed Li and a 26 year-old girl surnamed Song were declared diagnosed SARS patients the next day.

Li apparently caught the disease when taking care of hospitalized Song during March 29 and April 2 at Beijing-based Jiangong Hospital. Song's mother who also looked after the studentat the same hospital died of SARS.

Song, a medical student from Anhui Medical University, was then presumed to have contracted the disease when serving as an intern at the Beijing-based Institute of Virus Diseases under the center from March 7 to 22.

A medical researcher surnamed Yang, 31, with the institute was reported as a suspected case of SARS on April 23.

The outbreak had been contained by May 22 after one diagnosed SARS patient died and eight others recovered and were discharged from hospital before May 22.

Soon after the eruption of the disease, an expert team was set up consisting of members from China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and Beijing and national disease prevention and control centers.

The team has made epidemiological investigations into the two cases and interviewed all the staff working at the laboratory of Virology Institute, the ministry said.

A total of 5,327 cases of SARS were reported in 2003 in 24 provincial areas on the mainland, including 349 deaths. The disease was under control in mid August of that year. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/01/content_1562393.htm

Quarantine of two Beijing hospitals lifted

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-06 15:15:56

BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The respiratory disease wards with two hospitals in Beijing were announced to be lifted out of isolation on Thursday as no new cases of SARS infection have ever been found after two weeks' isolation.

Flanked by flowers, 159 medical workers, in-patients and helpers, all smiling, unveiled face and walked out of the strictly quarantined sections at Jiangong Hospital and at Renmin Hospital affiliated to the Peking University.

On April 2, a nurse surnamed Li from Jiangong Hospital of Beijing was diagnosed to have contracted the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) while receiving medical treatment at the ICU of Renmin Hospital.

To prevent SARS spreading, the Beijing municipal health authorities on the same day ordered isolation of the respiratory diseases wards with the both hospitals where the nurse used to seek medical treatment. And people who have had close contacts with the nurse were also put under strict medical surveillance and epidemiological investigation.

Jin Dapeng, head of the Beijing municipal administration for public health, said when the isolation was in place, all in-patients with the two hospitals were asked to take temperature on a daily basis.

And disease control workers carefully treated specimens collected from the nurse for medical observation and thoroughly disinfected all the infected places so that no new cases of SARS infection have happened at the two hospitals.

According to Jin, the nurse, the first diagnosed SARS patient in Beijing this spring, was been discharged from hospital on Wednesday after having fully recovered from the diseases.

The two hospitals will soon resume normal medical service, scientific research and teaching work after a thorough disinfection, said Jin. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/06/content_1454601_1.htm

Beijing's first SARS patient discharged from hospital

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-05 04:22:38

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Beijing's first confirmed SARS patient Li has recovered and was discharged from hospital on Tuesday.

The SARS patient Li is a 20-year-old female nurse in Beijing's Jiangong Hospital. She had symptoms of fever, cough and trembling on April 5, and was hospitalized on April 7 before her transfer to the Intensive Care Unit of the Renmin Hospital attached to prestigious Beijing University on April 14.

Li was finally confirmed as SARS patient on April 22.

The Ministry of Health said medical examinations showed Li had been connected epidemiologically with the SARS case in Anhui. During the hospitalization of the Anhui patient in Beijing Jiangong Hospital, it was Li who took care of the patient from March 29 to April 2.

At present, none of the people with close contact with her have shown abnormal symptoms and 99 of them have been freed from medical observation, in addition, one of them having high fever before was excluded possibility of SARS infection, said the ministry.

Only one of the six diagnosed SARS patients in Beijing is in serious condition, and the rest five are recovering, hospital sources said.

The diagnosed SARS patient in Anhui, surnamed Song, is also in stable condition and has had normal temperature for 11 days and the experts team in Anhui said she can be discharged from hospital in a few days, according to the ministry.

At present none of the people with close contact with her have shown abnormal symptoms and 89 of them have been freed from medical observation, the ministry said.

Since April 22, two diagnosed SARS cases were reported in Anhui,seven in Beijing and no diagnosed or suspected cases were reportedin other provinces. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/05/content_1453513.htm

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China reports no new SARS case in past 24 hours

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-05 16:58:25

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- There was no new suspected or diagnosed SARS cases in the Chinese mainland in the 24 hours from 10:00 May 4 to 10:00 May 5, and the first diagnosed SARS patient in Beijing, surnamed Li, has been discharged from hospital, the Chinese Ministry of Health announced here Wednesday.

The ministry said that currently, the one confirmed SARS patient in east China's Anhui Province is in good condition, and the six confirmed cases in Beijing are all in stable condition. They all are isolated at the designated hospitals for medical treatment.

Of those who have had close contact with the reported SARS cases, none have shown abnormal symptoms, and 103 people in Anhui Province and 141 people in Beijing have been freed from medical observation, said the ministry. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/05/content_1453920.htm

Cause of recent SARS cases still under probe

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-08 16:40:48

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The Ministry of Health said Saturday that it is making thorough investigation into the cause of recent severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, but the result is not available for the time being.

The ministry said the first diagnosed SARS patient surnamed Song was a medical graduate from Anhui Province studying in the Virology Institute under the Beijing-based Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Another SARS patient, a medical doctor with the surname of Yang, also worked in the institute.

Shortly after the occurrence of SARS epidemic, an expert team was set up consisting of members from China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and Beijing and national disease prevention and control center. The team has made epidemiological investigations into the two cases and interviewed all the staff working at the laboratory of Virology Institute, the ministry said.

The experts also conducted field investigations and collected samples at the laboratory, the ministry said, adding that the samples have been sent to two Chinese national laboratories and a World Health Organization (WHO) network laboratory for testing.

However, the expert team believes that more tests should be done on the laboratory samples as well as the samples of the two cases and those infected by them, in order to separate and verify SARS virus and determine the virus sequence.

"Therefore, we still need to wait for a period for the final result," an official with the ministry said.

China reported no new SARS infection in the past few days and the ministry said except one SARS patient surnamed Zhang in Beijing, other patients were all in good conditions and recoveringquickly. Beijing's first diagnosed SARS patient Li has recovered and was discharged from hospital on May 4. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/08/content_1457765.htm

SARS expert: Holiday travel in China is safe

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-29 16:04:52

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhuanet) -- China's top SARS expert Zhong Nanshan says it's safe to travel in China during the imminent weeklong May Day holiday. There's no need to overreact to the recent surge of the virus in the country.

"The possibility that people infected with SARS would spread the highly-contagious virus once on move during the coming Golden Week is slim." Zhong made the remark at a donation ceremony in Guangzhou.

He explained that the origin of the virus is spotted at the Institute of Virology of the Chinese Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) in Beijing, and there is no hints so far that the virus has been spread to other parts of the nation.

Zhong recommends open-air places to travel and warns not to eat wild animals. "Places with good ventilation should be good choices while those crowded bars and KTVs are not recommended."

China steps up precautious measures at transportation venues nationwide to shut any possibility for SARS spread. Passengers traveling by both air and rail have to undergo temperature checks.

China has reported two diagnosed SARS cases and seven suspected cases in Beijing and Anhui Province. About 1,000 people have been isolated for medical observation.

The CDC Institute of Virology has been sealed and isolated since April 23 due to possible laboratory infection. No staff under quarantine has shown any SARS symptoms.

On April 28, a new suspected SARS case was reported in Beijing. The suspected SARS patient, surnamed Zhang, is in critical condition, said the Ministry of Health. Already under isolation in Beijing's Ditan Hospital from the evening on April 22, the patient also reported respiratory distress and other chronical diseases.

Zhang is a 49-years-old retired women doctor. She once shared the same hospital ward for treatment with a young women surnamed Li, Beijing's only diagnosed SARS case.

She was hospitalized for lung infection in Jiangong Hospital on April 12, reported fever on April 19 and transferred to Ditan Hospital on April 22. According to Zhang's clinical symptoms and the epidemiological investigation, she was confirmed to be a suspected SARS case April 27.

The diagnosed SARS patient,named Li, in Beijing is in relatively stable condition and has had normal temperature for 12 straight days. All suspected SARS patients in Beijing continued receiving medical treatment in Beijing Ditan Hospital.

The SARS patient in Anhui Province, surnamed Song, saw further recovery and reported normal temperature for five straight days.

WHO director-general Lee Jong-wook voiced on April 28 his satisfaction with China's efforts to deal with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which has reappeared in China since April 22.

Speaking to reporters after delivering a public lecture in Singapore on Wednesday, Lee said that he found no excuse to criticize the way China is handling SARS as it has done its best to fight the killing disease, and the outbreak seems to be under control now.

Having experienced SARS last year, China will be more cautious to deal with SARS this time, he said, adding that he has full confidence in China because it is putting all the measures necessary and can handle the disease well.

He is also comforted that China has put some 1,000 people under observation since the first case was found on April 22.

Being concerned that the outbreak in Beijing started at a laboratory researching SARS, he stressed that clearly laboratory transmission is a trend, and this is a very serious situation, people must learn from that.

(China Daily)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/29/content_1447619.htm

SARS outbreak in China no major threat: WHO

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-01 01:38:51

GENEVA, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The World Health Organization (WHO)announced Friday that it did not view the latest SARS outbreak in China as a major threat to public health since all cases could be traced.

Despite the Chinese health ministry's confirmation that a woman in Anhui Province had died of SARS on April 19, WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said: "We still don't view this as a major threat to public health because all of the cases so far can still be traced immunologically to the national Institute of Virology in Beijing."

Cheng said although WHO had not been able to sequence or isolate the virus to determine if it was the same strain as last year's, but "We are reassured that we haven't seen this pop up in other regions of the country which are not linked to these people."

So far, the people identified with SARS had very close personal contact with the "index" cases, she said.

While China has updated the number of SARS cases to nine, Cheng said WHO could not technically confirm these new cases because they required external laboratory verification through its international network.

As to a recent victim of SARS who was said to have contracted the disease from working on SARS research at the National Institution of Virology in Beijing, Cheng said, based on the preliminary information received from WHO teams in Beijing, there had been serious breaches in biosafety in these labs.

So far, five SARS cases and four suspected SARS cases have been reported on the Chinese mainland since April 22. Of the five confirmed cases, two were reported in Anhui and three in Beijing. The four suspected cases are now in Beijing. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/01/content_1450177.htm

3 more SARS cases confirmed

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-04 17:43:49

BEIJING May 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Three suspected cases of SARS in the Chinese capital, Beijing, have now been confirmed, taking the number of victims of the latest outbreak to nine, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

All three newly confirmed cases of the highly contagious deadly flu-like SARS were linked to one viral disease laboratory in Beijing, it said on its Web site.

Only one of the nine has died so far. Hundreds of people have been isolated for observation in the past couple of weeks, but travelers have been taking to planes and trains undeterred for the week-long May Day holiday that ends on May 7.

The cases are limited to people who worked at Beijing's Institute of Virology, where SARS samples are kept, and others who had close contact with them or patients infected by them. One person has died.

The latest confirmed cases are the father of a nurse who treated an infected lab worker, the nurse's hospital roommate and a person who helped take care of the roommate, the Health Ministry said.

The World Health Organization says that because the cases are in such a limited group, they aren't a public health threat. But the agency wants to find out what went wrong with lab safety, and a WHO team in Beijing has interviewed people at the SARS lab and the hospital where the patients were treated.

Nearly 800 people died of the potentially fatal illness worldwide after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome last year.

(China Daily/Agencies)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/04/content_1453080.htm

China reports no new SARS case in past 24 hours

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-03 16:13:34

BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- There was no new case of SARS reported in China in the 24 hours from 10:00 May 2 to 10:00 May 3, the Chinese Ministry of Health announced here Monday.

The ministry noted that currently, one confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patient in eastern China's Anhui province and four confirmed cases, as well as three other suspected cases in Chinese capital Beijing, are all in stable condition and remain isolated at the designated hospitals for medical treatment.

Among all the close contacts of the reported SARS cases, 44 people in Anhui province and 88 people in Beijing have been freed from medical observation, said the ministry. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/03/content_1452164.htm

Beijing's first SARS patient can be discharged from hospital in 10 days, Official

UPDATED: 09:49, May 01, 2004

Beijing's first confirmed SARS patient Li is expected to leave hospital in a matter of 10 days as her condition turns normal steadily, said Han Demin, deputy director of the Beijing Health Bureau on April 30.

"Li has reported normal temperature for 14 consecutive days and her physique indices are quite normal," said Han.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200405/01/eng20040501_142107.html

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WHO experts concludes investigation in Anhui

UPDATED: 01:42, May 01, 2004

The joint expert team of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese Ministry of Public Health wrapped up its two-day survey trip in China's eastern Anhui Province Friday afternoon, where two diagnosed SARS cases were spotted.

Jeff Gilbert, a prestigious WHO expert on influenza, told Xinhua that the expert team got the impression that the SARS control measures have been put in place timely in Anhui and local health authorities have taken the issue very seriously.

Currently, the SARS epidemic was under control and it was not likely to have another large SARS outbreak, he said.

During the team's stay there, the experts visited and had a face-to-face talk with a medical postgraduate surnamed Song, who had been diagnosed as a SARS patient. The team also inspected the laboratories where Song used to work, trying to sort out some clues for her infection.

Gilbert said the 26-year-old recovering SARS patient was able to answer all the questions they raised.

With the onset of May Day holiday, millions of Chinese will set off for traveling. Gilbert said the large number of travelers would possibly increase the risks, since SARS has been proved to be effectively transmitted through moving vehicle.

But, as SARS epidemic has been basically put under control so traveling people can be at ease, he said.

In addition, Gilbert suggested the Chinese government improving SARS monitoring efforts, especially for medical researchers or health staff working at laboratories.

On Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Health reported no new SARS infection in China for the past 24 hours, but said a previously reported suspected case in Anhui was confirmed.

The newly confirmed SARS patient surnamed Wei in Anhui province had been previously reported as a suspected case. Wei was Song's mother, and she died on April 19.

The ministry said Beijing's first confirmed SARS patient Li is in stable condition with a normal temperature for 14 consecutive days.

Teng, Li's mother who was confirmed as SARS patient Thursday, now has normal temperature and is in relatively stable condition.

But Li's aunt, also proven as a SARS case on Thursday, is still in critical condition, the ministry added.

The other four suspected SARS patients in Beijing are still under isolated medical treatment at the Ditan Hospital. Among all the people in close contact with the reported cases in Beijing, 43 have been freed from medical observation.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/30/eng20040430_142074.html

No new SARS case reported, 1 suspected case confirmed

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-30 16:50:53

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- There was no new case of SARS in China in the 24 hours from 10:00 April 29 to 10:00 April 30, but a previously reported suspected case was confirmed, the Health Ministry said Friday.

The newly confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patient surnamed Wei in Anhui Province was previously reported as a suspected case. Wei was the mother of the other SARS patient in Anhui, and she died on April 19.

Wei was posthumously confirmed as having contracted SARS on Thursday afternoon, based on the results of laboratory tests, her clinical symptoms and epidemiological history, the ministry said.

Wei's daughter, the 26-year-old medical graduate named Song, is recovering and has had normal temperature for seven straight days. Among all the people that had close contact with her, 39 have been removed from medical observation.

Meanwhile, the ministry said Beijing's first confirmed SARS patient Li is in stable condition and has had normal temperature for 14 consecutive days.

Teng, Li's mother who was confirmed as SARS patient Thursday, now has normal temperature and is in relatively stable condition.

But Li's aunt, also confirmed as a SARS case on Thursday, is still in critical condition, the ministry said.

The other four suspected SARS patients in Beijing are still isolated and receiving medical treatment at Beijing's Ditan Hospital. Among all the people in close contact with the reported cases in Beijing, 43 have been freed from medical observation.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/30/content_1449634.htm

One new suspected SARS patient in critical condition

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-28 16:47:28

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhuanet) -- China reported one new suspected SARS case for the past 24 hours, the Chinese Ministry of Public Health said here Wednesday.

The newly reported suspected SARS patient, surnamed Zhang, was now in critical condition, said the ministry's daily surveillance report.

Zhang is a 49-years-old retired women doctor. She once shared the same hospital ward for treatment with Li, Beijing's only diagnosed SARS case.

Already under isolation in Beijing's Ditan Hospital from the evening on April 22, the patient also reported respiratory distress and other chronical diseases.

She was hospitalized for lung infection in Jiangong Hospital onApril 12, reported fever on April 19 and transferred to Ditan Hospital on April 22.

According to Zhang's clinical symptoms and the epidemiological investigation, she was confirmed to be a suspected SARS case on April 27 afternoon.

The ministry said in the report that the diagnosed SARS patient,named Li, in Beijing is in relatively stable condition and has had normal temperature for 12 straight days.

The six suspected SARS patients in Beijing continued receiving medical treatment in Beijing Ditan Hospital, the ministry said.

For those now under medical observation in Beijing, one reported fever while 13 more have been removed from observation.

The SARS patient in Anhui Province, surnamed Song, saw further recovery and reported normal temperature for five straight days.

None of the people with close contact with her have shown abnormal symptoms so far and 38 among them have been removed from observation.

China's Health Ministry said there were 18 visitors from Australian, Russia, Republic of Korea, Japan to Institute of Virology of the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), where one diagnosed and one suspected SARS cases have worked for a while.

The ministry has informed the visitors, countries concerned and the World Health Organization of relevant information and no abnormal problems have been reported yet.

Experts believed the SARS case in the Chinese mainland in April might have been caused by lab infection.

The Chinese mainland has reported one diagnosed SARS case and one suspected case in Anhui and one diagnosed SARS case and six suspected cases in Beijing since April 22.

No other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have reported diagnosed or suspected SARS case. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/28/content_1445531.htm

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4 WHO teams to work with China on SARS investigation

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 27, 2004

The World Health Organization (WHO) will have four teams working with China on the investigation into the recent SARS cases on the Chinese mainland, WHO spokesman Bob Dietz said Beijing on Tuesday.

"In addition to the bio-safety team investigating the laboratories, we also have a team to help with the epidemiological investigations, one to help make sure infection control in hospitals, and a team that will visit Anhui," Dietz told Xinhua.

The spokesman said WHO experts will arrive in China in two or three days.

Meanwhile, sources with the Chinese Health Ministry said the WHO experts are on their way to China. "After they arrive, the ministry will meet with them and discuss the details for cooperation. We hope the joint investigation could start soon," an official with the ministry said.

Since April 22, China has reported two confirmed and six suspected SARS cases in Anhui and Beijing. Early warning systems on SARS have been enacted in the two places and local health authorities nationwide have tightened surveillance and report efforts on SARS.

Experts blamed the SARS occurrences on possible laboratory infection. Currently, the Institute of Virology under China's Center for Disease Prevention and Control, where the Anhui SARS patient and a Beijing suspected patient used to work, has been sealed and isolated. No staff of the institute who are now in quarantine have shown abnormal symptoms.

In addition, the ministry has asked hospitals above the county level to recheck the death and pneumonia cases with no clear causes which have occurred since March 20. No cases have been found related with SARS so far, the ministry said.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/27/eng20040427_141707.shtml

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SARS patient in Anhui province in stable condition

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 27, 2004

The SARS patient in east China's Anhui Province, surnamed Song, is now in stable condition, Zhu Qixing, head of the No.1 Hospital affiliated to the Anhui University of Medical Sciences, in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.

"At this stage Song's disease is no longer infectious," said Zhu. However, Zhu said, doctors would continue to tighten monitoring over and medical treatment on Song until she fully recovers.

Song, aged 26, who is still receiving medical treatment at the hospital's ICU, last Saturday stopped taking hormone and medicine to raise blood pressure, and her temperature has returned to normal, according to Zhu.

"Song's temperature at 9 a.m. on Tuesday was 36 degrees Celsius.She is in a fine mood and can do some exercises out of bed," said Zhu.

The Chinese Ministry of Health announced two SARS cases in Anhui last Friday afternoon. The other SARS patient in Anhui was Song's mother, who died on April 19.

Song, who does her postgraduate courses with the Anhui University of Medical Sciences, studied at a Beijing-based research institute of virus diseases under the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) from March 7 to 22.

On March 23, Song went back to Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, by train and then returned to Beijing by train after complaining of fever on March 25. Later, she went to see doctors in Beijing and Huainan City of Anhui Province. On April 4, she was transferred to the No. 1 Hospital under the Anhui University of Medical Sciences for further treatment.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/27/eng20040427_141675.shtml

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Psychotherapy helps SARS patient recover

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-27 16:43:22

HEFEI, April 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Psychological methods have proved helpful in the rehabilitation of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) patient in east China's Anhui Province, a doctor overseeing the treatment said.

The patient, a 26-year-old female medical postgraduate surnamed Song, had a normal temperature of 37.1 degrees Celsius on Friday morning and saw further improvement in other vital signs such as breath and blood pressure as well, according to Zhang Xuejun, president of Anhui University of Medical Sciences.

Song is now receiving medical treatment at the No.1 Hospital affiliated to the Anhui University of Medical Sciences where she is studying as a postgraduate.

According to Zhang, psychological therapy has "played a significant role in helping Song recover and produced good effects." The therapy was introduced to counteract the fear that may come over her and diminish her confidence to recover, Zhang said.

According to the therapy, fellow students and teachers from the university have been arranged to "talk" to Song through short messages on mobile phones, to encourage her cooperation in treatment.

In addition, Song was informed of her illness' developments and analyses in a timely manner, in light of that she is a would-be doctor and is likely to have professional and objective views on her illness.

This was done to let her know that "her illness is nothing dreadful, and she can recover" and to help build up her confidence, the president said.

Song has been in a good mood since the psychotherapy began and has a good appetite, Zhang said, adding that she sent him a short message Monday saying "Thanks for the care from the university authorities. I will try my best to recover."

According to Zhang, medical workers continued supportive treatment, injecting albumin and blood plasma to help her regain strength and improve immunity, while reducing the dosage of antibiotics which were used to prevent secondary infection.

The Chinese Ministry of Health announced two SARS cases in Anhui on Friday afternoon. The other was Song's mother, a suspected SARS patient who died on April 19.

As a postgraduate of the Anhui University of Medical Sciences, Song was sent to study at a Beijing-based research institute of viral diseases under the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) from March 7 to 22.

The daily SARS surveillance report from the Ministry of Health said Monday that "the Anhui patient surnamed Song is in stable condition and none of the people with close contact with her have showed abnormal symptoms so far."

Nationwide, China reported no new cases of SARS from 10 a.m. Sunday to 10 a.m. Tuesday, the ministry said.

China has currently two diagnosed SARS patients. One is Song inAnhui, and the other, surnamed Li, is in Beijing. Li has been in stable condition and had normal temperature for 11 successive days.Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/27/content_1443234.htm

WHO praises China's quick response to SARS return

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-26 14:26:29

MANILA, April 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) Monday appreciated China's quick and serious response to SARS after reappearance of SARS cases in Anhui province and Beijing since April 22.

Shigeru Omi, director of the WHO's Western Pacific Regional Office based here, told Xinhua in a seminar with foreign press that the organization is satisfied with the Chinese government's quick response and information sharing with the domestic public and international society after the reappearance of SARS, the fatal disease having claimed hundreds of lives worldwide last year.

A diagnosed patient, Song, who is from Anhui and used to work for a lab in the Institute of Virology in Beijing, was discovered as a virus carrier after she took a train to return to her hometown from the capital last month.

"The Chinese government has taken serious measures to address it (SARS) this time such as identifying passengers who took the same train (with the virus carrier) and share the information with public and the WHO," Omi said.

He said that he believes China would overcome the SARS revival as soon and successful as possible since the linkage among the diagnosed patients and suspects have been found out and the surveillance and prevention system, which the Chinese government had developed to address SARS crisis last year, have been put in practice.

Omi noted that there has no need to be panic so far because comparing with the crisis last year, "the infectors are still small in amount and will not result in an instant transmission."

It is the third time that the SARS has returned since the big crisis last year. Two persons, also lab researchers were separately infected with the virus in Singapore and China's Taiwan in September and December. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/26/content_1440710.htm

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China reports 4 new suspected SARS cases

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-25 16:43:44

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhuanet) -- China reported four new suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases for the past 24 hours from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday, according to the Chinese Health Ministry's epidemic surveillance report on SARS released here Sunday.

The four suspected SARS cases were all in Beijing, putting the city's total SARS number to one diagnosed and five suspected ones. No new suspected or diagnosed SARS cases were reported from other places on the Chinese mainland.

The Ministry said the four suspected SARS patients have all had close contact with the Beijing diagnosed SARS patient surnamed Li. They are Li's parents, aunt and a female patient surnamed Xu who once lived in the same ward with Li.

Li's father is now in relatively stable condition, with a body temperature of 37 Celsius degree and no obvious changes on his chest X-ray. Li's mother has a body temperature of 37.4 Celsius degree and the inflammation shown on her chest X-ray is getting serious, according to the ministry.

Li's aunt, with a body temperature of 37.1 Celsius degree, is in relatively stable condition and her chest X-ray shows no obvious changes, the ministry said.

Xu is also in stable condition currently. Her body temperature is 37 Celsius degree and chest X-ray showed no clear changes.

So far no people in close contact with the four new suspected SARS patients have developed fever, the ministry said.

The ministry said Li is now in stable condition and has had normal body temperature for nine consecutive days. Yang, the 31-year-old suspected SARS patient reported on April 23, was also in stable condition.

The ministry said so far 337 people who had had close contact with the afore-mentioned cases have been put under medical observation in Beijing.

In Anhui Province, the diagnosed SARS patient named Song is recovering and none of the 133 people in close contact with her showed abnormal symptoms, according to the ministry. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/25/content_1439168.htm

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WHO to help China in SARS probe

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-25 21:04:12

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) will send an expert team to China to assist China's Health Ministry to investigate into the cause of SARS cases reported in China recently, Bob Dietz, spokesman of WHO China Office told Xinhua on Sunday.

"At the request of the Chinese government, WHO will assemble a team of two or three experts in laboratory bio-safety issues... to investigate possible links between China's Institute of Virology in Beijing under the China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the SARS cases reported recently in China," Dietz said.

"The WHO team will arrive in China within days," he said.

Since April 22, China has reported two diagnosed and six suspected SARS cases in east Anhui Province and Beijing.

Since the Anhui diagnosed SARS patient and one Beijing suspected SARS patient used to work in the same laboratory in the Institute of Virology, experts said it was possible that the epidemic may have been caused by laboratory infection.

Dietz said currently WHO still does not see a "significant" public health threat in China.

But he said the situation could change if effective transmission of the SARS coronavirus were to be seen within the general public through casual contact, including being in an elevator, sharing a taxi or from a waitress at a restaurant.

"So far, the people who have become infected have all been closely linked with the people who made them ill, including close relatives or some one in a hospital setting," he said.

Dietz said WHO believes the most important thing to do at present for China is to spot potential SARS cases as quickly as possible, actively isolate them and carry out thorough epidemiological investigation and monitoring.

"This is the method that worked last year at the height of the first round of SARS and remains our best tool for controlling the disease this time, too," he said. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/25/content_1439281.htm

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Anhui Province issues emergency circular on SARS prevention

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, April 25, 2004

The Tourism Administration in east China's Anhui Province has issued an emergency circular calling for all local subordinate sectors to take immediate action to prevent the spread of SARS, especially during the upcoming May Day holidays.

The calls came after one diagnosed SARS case and one suspected SARS case were reported Friday in the province, where is the renowned scenic Mount Huangshan. The province has launched a SARS early warning and prevention system accordingly.

Both local anti-SARS work headquarters and the administration convened emergency meetings Friday to start up preparatory measures to fight against the highly contagious disease.

Tourism departments in Hefei, capital of the province, Huainan,Huangshan and Chizhou cities are required as scheduled to stand on duty around the clock, with those in other cities across the province to keep channels open for information.

Any fever cases are required to be reported immediately, and the administration announced its full readiness to deal with emergencies with its anti-SARS office open around the clock.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/25/eng20040425_141469.shtml

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SARS surveillance tightened ahead of holiday

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, April 25, 2004

Anhui finds 133 people having contacts with SARS patient

East China's Anhui Province has discovered 133 people who had contacts with the first SARS patient in the province by Saturday afternoon. Among them, 111 had close contacts to the female SARS patient, surnamed Song, an official of the Provincial Health Department said Saturday. At present, 78 are kept in medical observation. Quarantine on another 33 have been lifted. Nobody was found to have fever.

China heightened surveillance of passengers for SARS on Saturday ahead of a week-long holiday starting May 1, when millions are on the move, after the first reported death from the virus since a major outbreak last year.

The Health Ministry reported no new cases after confirming China's first two in months on Friday. Both women were in stable condition with normal temperatures, it said.

Government departments issued a circular asking the country's transport sector and ports to strengthen quarantine work to prevent SARS -- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome -- from spreading.

Railway stations and airports were ordered to check the temperatures of all passengers from Beijing and Anhui province, where the latest cases were reported.

The Labour Day "Golden Week," a break for travel, shopping and family reunions, was cut short last year during the peak of the worldwide SARS outbreak for fear of spreading the disease.

The death of a woman from Anhui, the mother of a confirmed SARS patient, was the first since last year's outbreak of the flu-like illness that killed more than 800 people worldwide.

She died taking care of her daughter, a medical student believed to have caught the virus while working for two weeks in March at the Chinese National Institute of Virology in Beijing, known to be engaged in SARS research, Xinhua news agency said.

The other confirmed patient was a nurse who treated the student. The only other suspected case was a post-doctoral researcher who worked alongside her in the lab.

Three other people who came down with fevers after coming in contact with her were also recovering.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) said China had requested help from its biosafety investigation team to track down the exact cause of the latest outbreak.

"A lab team is being sent to determine what happened," WHO spokesman Dick Thompson said. "If it was a laboratory accident, we have to find out how it happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it from happening in the future."

WHO aims to dispatch the global head of its SARS team, Angela Merianos, to Beijing as it rounds up members for the laboratory investigation group, Thompson said.

The first phase of clinical testing of a SARS vaccine is soon to be conducted at a Beijing hospital, Xinhua quoted China's SARS vaccine research and development team as saying.

Forty healthy volunteers, 20 men and 20 women aged from 21 to 40, would be inoculated either with the vaccine or a placebo free of the SARS virus for random comparison.

The volunteers would take blood tests at regular intervals and during an observation period lasting 210 days.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/25/eng20040425_141451.shtml

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China reports four new suspected SARS cases

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-25 16:43:44

Li's aunt, with a body temperature of 37.1 Celsius degree, is in relatively stable condition and her chest X-ray shows no obvious changes, the ministry said.

Xu is also in stable condition currently. Her body temperature is 37 Celsius degree and chest X-ray showed no clear changes.

So far no people in close contact with the four new suspected SARS patients have developed fever, the ministry said.

The ministry said so far 337 people who had had close contact with the afore-mentioned cases have been put under medical observation in Beijing.

In Anhui Province, the diagnosed SARS patient named Song is recovering and none of the 133 people in close contact with her showed abnormal symptoms, according to the ministry. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/25/content_1439168.htm

China reports no new SARS case during past 24 hours (April 24)

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, April 24, 2004

China's Health Ministry said in Beijing Saturday that no new SARS case was reported on the Chinese mainland during the past 24 hours from 10 a.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday.

On Friday the ministry reported two diagnosed and two suspected SARS cases in east Anhui Province and Beijing. The suspected SARS case in Anhui died on April 19.

The ministry said the 20-year-old diagnosed Beijing patient Surnamed Li is recovering and the 31-year-old male suspected patient is in stable condition.

The 26-year-old Anhui SARS patient Song has resumed a normal temperature and is in stable condition.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/24/eng20040424_141420.shtml

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New SARS cases may have resulted from lab infection

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, April 24, 2004

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhuanet) -- A Chinese Health Ministry spokesman announced here Friday that China's central Anhui Province has reported one diagnosed case and one suspected case ofSARS.

Meanwhile, the suspected case of SARS reported Thursday in Beijing was confirmed Friday and the city reported a new suspected case, the spokesman said.

The new SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) cases may have resulted from laboratory infection, he said.

The spokesman said the confirmed SARS patient in Anhui was a 26-year-old female postgraduate at Anhui Medical University, surnamed Song. She studied in Beijing at a laboratory of the institute of virus diseases under the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) from March 7 to 22.

On March 23, Song went back to Hefei, capital of Anhui, by train and then returned to Beijing by train after complaining of fever on March 25.

On March 29, Song went to see doctor at the Beijing Jiangong Hospital and was hospitalized for pneumonia.

Song then went back to Huainan city of Anhui Province by train on April 2 and received medical treatment at the second hospital of the Huainan coal mine. Two days later, she was transferred to the first hospital attached to Anhui Medical University for viral pneumonia.

The suspected SARS patient who died in Anhui, surnamed Wei, was Song's mother, the ministry said, adding that the mother had accompanied the daughter since March 31.

On April 8, the mother developed a fever and was hospitalized at the first hospital attached to the Anhui Medical University for viral pneumonia with no clear cause.

The mother's condition got worse on April 19 and she died on the same day.

The ministry said Song's blood sample was tested IgG positive on April 21 according to the Anhui provincial CDC. Tests from the Jiangsu provincial CDC on the patient's blood samples also were IgM and IgG positive.

The ministry said it received a report from the Anhui health bureau on the evening of April 21 and sent experts to the province on the next morning.

On April 23, the test result from China's national CDC on the 26-year-old patient's blood sample showed IgG and IgM positive.

Based on the clinical features as well as the results of laboratory tests and epidemiological investigation, the ministry confirmed the daughter as a SARS case and the mother as a suspected one.

The ministry said investigation showed that suspected SARS patient surnamed Li identified in Beijing on Thursday has an epidemiological connection with the SARS case in Anhui.

While the Anhui patient was hospitalized in Beijing Jiangong Hospital, Li worked there and tended her from March 29 to April 2,according to the ministry.

Due to the epidemiological connection between the two patients, the ministry concluded on Friday that the 20-year-old Beijing patient was a confirmed SARS case.

The ministry said Li now has a normal temperature and five out of 188 people with close contact with her have developed fever. The five people were under medical observation at Beijing's Ditan Hospital.

Meanwhile, Beijing reported on Friday a new suspected case of SARS. The patient, surnamed Yang, was a 31-year-old post-doctoral researcher at the institute of virus diseases under the Chinese national CDC, said the ministry.

The patient developed fever on April 17 and was hospitalized on April 22. Based on the clinical features and results of the epidemiological investigation, the patient was diagnosed as a suspected case of SARS by Beijing health authorities, the ministry said.

The ministry said that since Yang used to work with the Anhui patient Song in the same laboratory, there is a possibility that the new cases of SARS were caused by laboratory infection.

The spokesman said the ministry has closed the institute under the national CDC, and put related persons under medical observation. Experts are making tests to trace the source of infection. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/23/content_1437535.htm

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Body temperature of SARS patient back to normal

www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-24 16:00:22

HEFEI, April 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Body temperature of the SARS patient in east China's Anhui Province has restored to normal level, said a local official.

The patient, with surname Song, is now receiving treatment in the No. 1 Affiliated Hospital with the Anhui Medical University (AMU), said Zhang Xuejun, President of the AMU.

On Friday night, Song's body temperature was 37.5 degrees Celsius. It went down to 36.5 degrees Celsius Saturday morning, said Zhang.

Song has a good appetite and ate half egg, half bread and some soybean milk as breakfast Saturday morning, said Zhang. Song also began to use her mobile phone to send messages to relatives and friends.

The Ministry of Health announced two SARS cases in Anhui Friday afternoon. Song is a 26-year-old female postgraduate at AMU. She studied in Beijing at a laboratory of the institute of virus diseases under the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) from March 7 to 22.

On March 23, Song went back to Hefei, capital of Anhui, by train and then returned to Beijing by train after complaining of fever on March 25. Later Song went to see doctors at Beijing and Huainan City of Anhui Province. On April 4, she was transferred to the No. 1 Affiliated Hospital with the Anhui Medical University for viral pneumonia.

Another suspected SARS patient was Song's mother. She died on April 19. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/24/content_1438312.htm

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China Reports Two Confirmed SARS Cases

Chinese Ministry of Health reported one case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and a suspected case in Anhui Province Friday. The suspected case in Beijing was confirmed and a new suspected case was reported, according to the ministry's spokesman.

The 26-year-old SARS patient surnamed Song, female, is a postgraduate student at Anhui University of Medical Science. She studied at a laboratory of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Beijing from March 7 to 22. She traveled by train between Beijing and Anhui from the end of March to early April.

On March 29, she went to see the doctor in Beijing's Jiangong Hospital which is near the Chinese CDC and was hospitalized for pneumonia. On April 2, she returned to Anhui. The suspected SARS patient was her mother who had taken care of her since March 31 and died on April 19.

The investigation shows that the Beijing nurse surnamed Li tended the Anhui student when she was treated in Jiangong Hospital between March 29 and April 2. Li was confirmed today as a SARS patient. At present, her temperature has returned to normal. Five people who had close contact with her and have shown some SARS symptoms, such as fever, have been quarantined.

A total of 171 people who have had close contact with the nurse have been identified and put under medical observation.

The new suspected case reported in Beijing is also associated with the Beijing lab. The patient surnamed Yang, 31, is a post-doctorate researcher working with the lab. He got a fever on April 17 and was sent to Ditan Hospital for treatment on April 22.

In view that both Song and Yang worked in the same lab, some experts consider that the current attack of the SARS virus may be caused by lab infection. The Ministry of Health has arranged closure of the Virus Prevention and Control Institute under the Chinese CDC where the lab is located and relevant institute staff has been put under medical observation. Experts have been organized to probe into the source of infection.

(China.org.cn April 23, 2004)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/2004/Apr/93873.htm

Suspect SARS case puts China on alert

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 23, 2004

The Ministry of Health held an emergent teleconference Thursday night after the announcement of one suspect SARS case in Beijing, making detailed actions to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The ministry asked local health authorities to enhance SARS preventative measures and spare no efforts to prevent hospital infection and protect the safety of health workers.

Local health institutions were also asked to resume the "zero" report mechanism on SARS immediately, namely to deliver daily surveillance report even though no cases were reported.

Strict epidemiological investigations were also required by the ministry.

The investigations should trace the activities of a patient in the last 20 days after the onset of disease and all the death as well as pneumonia cases with no clear causes happening twenty days in the hospital since a SARS-related patient is hospitalized should be investigated, the ministry said.

The ministry also asked hospitals to enhance observation to fever patients and deliver daily report on the death and pneumonia cases which had with no clear causes.

Other measures demanded by the conference included tightening laboratory safety and improving information sharing among government departments.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) China Office suggested the public "be sensible" to the possible reoccurrence of SARS, but "do not over react".

Bob Dietz, press officer of the WHO China Office, told Xinhua that his office had been informed of the suspect SARS case by the Health Ministry Thursday evening.

"The ministry's investigations have started and the WHO is in close contact with the ministry," he said.

From a public health standpoint, the first step is to confirm the cases, trace their contacts and make sure more people do not become infected, Dietz said. "China has a lot of experience in this and we are sure they will respond promptly and effectively."

He said the fact that a suspect case was spotted early and reported is encouraging. "There is no cause to expect that China will not be able to contain this round of SARS just as it did the small outbreak in Guangdong in December and January."

He said WHO might send an expert team to China if the Chinese government requests help, "but China is capable of dealing with SARS".

"We are pleased that the Ministry of Health has shared information with WHO and we look forward to continued collaboration with the Ministry," he said.

According to the Health Ministry, the 20-year-old female patient surnamed Li was currently hospitalized in isolation in Beijing's Ditan Hospital and had undergone two examinations by a medical expert team of the ministry.

Some 171 people who had close contact with the patient have received medical observation and five who developed fever have been isolated for further observation.

Beijing has geared up the early warning system for SARS, organized an epidemiological investigation and disinfected the living and working places of the patient.

The Health Ministry said it has already informed Hong Kong and Macao health authorities of relevant information.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200404/23/eng20040423_141293.shtml

China declares bird flu control success

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 16, 2004

The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Tuesday morning declared initial-stage success in fighting against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The announcement was made by Jia Youling, MOA spokesman for HPAI Control, at a specially organized press conference.

With the infected areas in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region being lifted out of isolation as of Tuesday, all the 49 HPAI confirmed cases as have been stamped out, said Jia.

Neither new HPAI cases nor cases of human infection have been reported in the past 29 days in a row, the MOA spokesman stressed.

HPAI hit 16 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions in China from Jan. 27 to March 16, posting a big threat to people's properties and health. Confronted with the sudden outbreak of the epidemic, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and the State Council attached great importance to prevention and control of the epidemic, made emergent arrangements, implemented the contingency plan and established the National HPAI Prevention and Control Headquarters, Jia said.

Thanks to concerted efforts made by people from different walks of life in the past more than one month, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has now been brought under control, said Jia.

Bird flu prevention a long-term task.

A senior Chinese official in charge of bird flu control said the situation in bird flu prevention and control is still grave, though the country lifted cordons in all the infected areas on Tuesday.

Outlining major problems in bird flu control in a press conference, Jia Youling, spokesman in charge of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) control under the Ministry of Agriculture, said there are still water fowls that carry the virus.

Secondly, when the weather is warming up in most parts of the north, migratory birds will fly northwards on a large scale, which may result in the spread of the pathogen, he added.

Thirdly, there will be more chances for the trans-regional spread of the disease as there will be more long distance transportation of poultry and substantial replenishment of birds in the poultry production.

Fourth, the disease still exists in some countries or regions surrounding China, hence the risk of the disease spreading into China.

Finally, the tremendous difficulty encountered in the disease prevention and control has not been overcome at the root since the poultry production of China is a large, wide-spreading industry, and many places suffer from very poor conditions for disease control.

Therefore, the possibility of HPAI coming again is great, and no effort should be spared in its prevention and control, Jia stressed.

In light of the current situation, the Ministry of Agriculture calls on the competent animal husbandry and veterinary authorities to follow up with the plans of the National HPAI Prevention and Control Headquarters and sum up the experience they have obtained in past few weeks so as to further intensify the work of combating the epidemic.

Local agencies must keep vigilance and avoid lax in mind, action and leadership so as to keep their functions running smoothly, measures in place and quick response capacity ready once the epidemic occurs again, Jia said.

China will build an effective and long-term epizootic prevention mechanism in order to enhance the overall control capacity across the country, he concluded.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200403/16/eng20040316_137617.shtml

Bird Flu Requires Tight Watch

Vaccines used in China's chickens to combat bird flu have so far proved effective, with no new cases of the deadly virus reported in any of the nation's flocks. But a recent report in the UK magazine New Scientist warns that vaccinations can lead to the evolution of new bird flu strains, increasing the risk of human pandemics.

According to the report, vaccines, especially those for the flu, are never 100 percent effective.

While such vaccines can prevent animals from falling ill, small amounts of virus can still replicate inside creatures' bodies and spread from animal to animal.

Such "silent epidemics," the report said, are very hard to spot, and can cause new outbreaks if unvaccinated animals are exposed or if vaccination programs end too early.

"Such possibilities do exist if the quality of vaccines used is not good enough," admits Chen Hualan, chief of the national Bird Flu Reference Laboratory of the Veterinary Research Institute in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province.

But she said the inactivated vaccines used in China have proved so far to be effective. Continued close surveillance has shown that vaccinated chickens in China do not carry the bird flu virus.

"Vaccination does not mean everything is okay. We must never relax our vigilance," said Jia Youlin, chief veterinarian and spokesman for bird flu control at the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to Chen, surveillance include the testing of waste samples from vaccinated chickens to see whether there are any bird flu viruses present.

Chen said the method of putting unvaccinated "sentinel" chickens among vaccinated chickens has been also adopted. The use of such chickens is also recommended in the New Scientist report.

Once bird flu viruses exist, the sentinel chickens will show symptoms, Chen said.

The surveillance part of the equation is vital, said Ilaria Capua of the bird flu reference lab of the World Organization for Animal Health in Legnaro, Italy, according to the New Scientist report.

"The vaccine used without this monitoring can have a boomerang effect, and become a tool to spread the virus, not control it," the report quoted Capua as saying.

In 1995 Mexico stopped an outbreak of severe H5N2 flu by vaccinating chickens. But the virus was still circulating silently and Mexico is still vaccinating, the report said.

Normally the bird flu virus mutates little in chickens because it rarely persists long enough, but in Mexico the virus has been exposed to vaccinated chickens for years. That encouraged new forms of the virus to evolve.

China lifted its restrictions on the last two bird flu epidemic areas on March 16, but Jia, while announcing the news, said no efforts should be spared to prevent and control the disease.

(China Daily April 5, 2005)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/2004/Apr/92142.htm

Japan hopes to study bird flu control measures in China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Japan hopes to send a team of agricultural experts to China to gather information on bird flu monitoring and handling methods in the country, which just announced that avian influenza has been brought under control nationwide.

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday in a preliminary report that it is very useful to know how China handles bird flu matters because China is Japan's third-largest poultry import source, after Thailand and Brazil.

According to the ministry, Chinese poultry exports to Japan are valued at around 500 million US dollars.

"Thailand gave Japan a lot of information, and now Japan really understands the Thai situation," the report said, calling China to give Japan more information about the issue.

The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture earlier Tuesday declared initial-stage success in fighting against bird flu cases in just over a month and a half.

It attributed the control to a combination of poultry culling, disinfection and compulsory chicken vaccination.

Japan is not vaccinating poultry in the six prefectures where bird flu has been reported, because if the vaccine backfires, it increases the chance that the disease will return.

Of China's 49 outbreak cases, there are no relapses -- the control measures are extremely good, the Japanese farm ministry said.

Bird flu has turned up in six Japanese prefectures since it hit a farm in west Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture in January, and Japan is still fighting the disease.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200403/17/eng20040317_137721.shtml

China Bird Flu Situation

Information printed by China Ministry of Agriculture

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As of March 9, 2004

No reports of new suspected or confirmed bird flu cases today.

Lifts Isolation of 3 Bird-flu-affected Areas today.

2 Bird Flu confirmed sites remain.

47 Bird Flu sites declared safe after 21 days of quarantine.

In China, No Human Bird Flu Infection.

The last Suspected Bird Flu site reported on February 16, 2004.

Above figure shows data on March 1, 2004

Green Spot : Bird Flu Sites Declared Safe

Red Spot : Bird Flu Confirmed Sites

Note : no Bird Flu sites along our Tour routes

No More SARS case in China.

Chinese experts complete mapping of bird flu virus

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Chinese experts have completed the genetic map of the killer H5N1 bird flu virus and their next step will be looking at how the virus mutates.

The mapping result was achieved by an avian disease research lab at the South China Agricultural University, which is in Guangzhou, the capital of South China's Guangdong Province, according to Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily.

The breakthrough will help scientist understand how the virus evolves, the paper quoted Xin Chao'an, a leading professor at the lab as well as a member of the national avian flu team of experts, as saying.

Meanwhile, a previously suspected outbreak of the H5N1 strain in China's southwest has been confirmed by the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory, the Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday.

The outbreak is in Yunnan Province's Songming County.

The local government has taken measures to cull poultry in affected areas and impose prompt quarantine restrictions, the ministry said.

No new suspected cases were reported Tuesday, the ministry said.

In another development, a South Korean expert has developed a vaccine for the virus, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

The scientist plans to start using the vaccine on monkeys on March 8 and after about one month, move onto humans.

He said the vaccine strain will be both applicable to humans and poultry.

In the United States, genetic tests have shown that the bird flu virus found in a flock of chickens in Texas is far more serious than previously thought.

While confirming the outbreak on Friday, authorities in Texas originally suggested that the H5N2 virus -- discovered on a farm in Gonzales County, about 80 kilometres east of San Antonio -- was a low-pathogenic strain.

Based on latest genetic sequencing results, the strain has been reclassified as highly pathogenic, said Doctor Ron DeHaven, chief veterinarian of the US Department of Agriculture.

The last time a highly pathogenic bird flu virus was found in the United States was in 1983-84. It was also H5N2, which affected commercial poultry in both Pennsylvania and Virginia.

DeHaven said the infected flock of about 6,600 broiler chickens was destroyed on Saturday by the state of Texas, and the farm was put under state quarantine. Farms within a 16-kilometre radius were being tested for the disease.

However, Doctor Nancy Cox, chief of the influenza branch at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, downplayed the risk H5N2 virus poses to humans.

"Past experience with H5N2 viruses has indicated there is a low threat to public health," she said. "Nevertheless, as we move forward with this situation, we must keep an open mind and really monitor the situation as we go."

Also Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue announced that China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold a special meeting on dealing with bird flu on March 2 in Beijing.

At the invitation of the Chinese Government, experts and officials at vice-ministerial level from relevant departments of the 10 ASEAN nations will attend the meeting.

The ASEAN secretariat, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health will also participate in the meeting which aims to provide a forum for participants to exchange their experiences on the prevention and control of the disease and analyze the current epidemic condition in Asia.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/25/eng20040225_135798.shtml

Four Bird Flu Sites Declared Safe

Quarantine was lifted from four more bird flu epidemic areas Wednesday, bringing to seven the total number of affected areas in China now declared flu-free, said Jia Youling, spokesman for bird flu control with the Ministry of Agriculture.

The four areas are: Jiedong County in south China's Guangdong Province, Wugang in central China's Hunan Province, the Yushan District of Ma'anshan in east China's Anhui Province; and an area in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Dingdang Town, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the site of China's first confirmed bird flu case, as well as Shanghai's Nanhui District and Yongkang, in east China's Zhejiang Province, were previously freed from quarantine.

According to Xinhua, the Ministry of Agriculture did not receive any new reports of suspected or confirmed bird flu cases Wednesday. The last new case was reported on February 24.

The Beijing municipal animal epidemic prevention center has issued a directive requiring the strict disposal of animal waste and thorough disinfection of reusable feedstuff bags to prevent and contain the spread of the bird flu virus.

The directive requires large poultry farms to have special facilities to store and treat poultry feces. These areas must be disinfected regularly.

In another development, a suspected bird flu case emerged in Japan yesterday. If confirmed, it will be the third outbreak of the disease in the country this year, according to Xinhua.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Mexico and the European Union joined China, Japan, South Korea and others in banning US poultry due to a bird flu outbreak in the state of Texas, according to Reuters.

(China Daily February 26, 2004)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/2004/Feb/88494.htm

Commentary: Float and termination of rumors about bird flu

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 06, 2004

Bird flu has been attacking and harassing some Asian countries and regions, over the past few days, suspected and highly pathogenic bird flu epidemic has also occurred in many Chinese provinces and cities one after another. The Party Central Committee and cadres and masses in various localities have reinforced their confidence to press ahead despite difficulties. They have heroically and effectively launched a blocking war of prevention and control of bird flu. Meanwhile, rumors about bird flu have surfaced one after another at home and abroad. However, this time rumors have found no market.

Let's first take up some international conjectures and rumors. An article carried in the British New Scientist magazine claims that the source of bird flu outbreaks probably lies in China and it began last year. On February 2, Britain-based The Times asserted that there were cases of bird flu affected humans in China. Now let's take up some domestic rumors about bird flu. Some people groundlessly hold that with the outbreak of bird flu, all chickens, ducks and other fowls are uneatable, even are eggs, down jackets and down quilts are unusable, making it seem that they are all virus-infected. However, their remarks are utterly groundless, unscientific, fabricated and irresponsible.

If rumors are not eliminated in time, then the negative influence brought by their rapid spread sometimes is even worse than virus. The cause of rumors lies in people's ignorance of related matters and their intention to quickly find out the reason, consequently some other people act on hearsay, adding to it their own incorrect understanding and imagination, linking it groundlessly with unrelated matters and fabricating some specious things. On the other hand, impediment of news from the right source will lead to the rapid spread of hearsay. At the same time, there are a handful of people, who desire to stir up trouble, make blind and disorderly conjectures and harbor ulterior motives. Some Western mass media often like to make ungrounded conjectures, more often than not, they approach problems with bias and prejudice.

The best way to remove rumors is to take an open, transparent and rational attitude toward things, this is the conclusion already proved by the fight against SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), it has again been proved by the fact that now rumors about bird flu hardly find audiences.

In face of rumors from abroad, spokespersons of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health have timely refuted the rumors, pointing out that bird flu is a worldwide epidemic problem, the fight launched by all mankind against it has had a history of one hundred years. Knowledge of the channel and source of incidence of the disease can be confirmed only after numerous scientific researchers doing adequate experimental and research work. A BBC report said a WHO spokesperson had pointed out that the current outbreak of bird flu probably began in April last year, and denied the claim that the related virus specimen came from China. The hinterland of China has timely adopted effective measures, persistently strengthened leadership, acted in close coordination, relied on science, engaged in prevention and control of the disease according to law and on a mass basis, taken resolute action to deal with cases and quickly wiped out infected birds within a 3-km radius in the epidemic-affected areas, all these have played an important role in preventing the spread of the epidemic, that is an evident fact, proving no bird flu-infected humans. In the face of facts, when scientific and rational observation and thinking are upheld, rumor will collapse automatically and will be rarely believed in by the people.

In face of some domestic rumors, concerned departments, experts and news media have done detailed explanation work. Once bird flu is discovered, it will be timely made known to the public, in the meantime, various measures for preventing and controlling bird flu are put into practice timely and effectively. More importantly, the work of publicizing and popularizing knowledge about scientific prevention and control of bird flu will be timely done and strengthened. For instance, experts suggest that if one is not sure of the safety of the chickens and eggs sold on the market, one can give them heat treatment, this kind of virus is sensitive to heat, high-temperature can quickly kill the virus. The commonly used disinfectants can quickly destroy the infectiousness of bird flu virus. It is certain that wearing down jackets and covering down quilts and contacting related manufactured goods will not be infected with bird flu, because usually these things have gone through the treatment of sterilization, high temperature and many other physical and chemical links. All these make it very easy for the broad masses of the people to understand the situation regarding bird flu and to know that bird flu can be prevented and controlled, those preventative and control measures grasped by the masses are feasible and effective. In the face of scientific knowledge, so long as one makes a slight analysis and judgment, one will not believe rumors and will not turn pale at the mention of birds. Infectious diseases, be they SARS or bird flu, constitute threats to human beings, and so are the common enemy of humanity. In face of the epidemic, only when various countries join hands and strengthen cooperation, can they jointly prevent and cope with the disease, and only when people of the whole country unite as one man to form an impregnable fortress and rely on science, can we Chinese people finally defeat the epidemic disease. Rumor will only weaken humans' fighting capacity to meet and attack the epidemic disease, which will then go rampant. We should not create, spread and believe rumors, so that rumor will hardly float up, even if it surfaces, it will be timely terminated.

By People's Daily Online

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/06/eng20040206_134129.shtml

Quarantine Lifted on Two More Bird Flu Areas

The Ministry of Agriculture said Monday that the bird flu outbreak had ended in Shanghai's Nanhui District and Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province. Quarantine was lifted on both areas.

Jia Youling, an avian influenza control spokesman for the ministry, said that no new bird flu cases had been reported or confirmed for 21 days after the required culling of poultry in the affected areas.

The outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu strain was reported on January 29 in Shanghai and on January 31 in Zhejiang.

Experts who were dispatched to the areas to assess the outcome of control efforts concluded that the disease had been eradicated and the areas met the requirements for removal from quarantine as set out in the Emergency Countermeasures Against Avian Influenza of China and the Technical Standards Regarding the Fight Against Avian Influenza.

The Ministry of Agriculture urged local organizations to continue supervising animal quarantine to prevent the occurrence of new cases.

The ministry received no reports of new suspected or confirmed avian influenza cases in China Monday, said spokesman Jia.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2004)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/2004/Feb/88223.htm

Isolation ends in China's 1st bird flu-hit town

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-22 11:09:55

DINGDANG TOWN, Guangxi, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Tang Bowen, magistrate of Long 'an County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, announced Sunday morning the ending of isolation imposed on the county's Dingdang Town, which had been stricken by the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu late last month.

It is the first bird flu-affected area in China relieved out of isolation. The move was based on the official prescription on lifting isolation imposed on highly pathogenic avian flu-afflicted areas after thorough examinations from Chinese agricultural experts.

Since the bird flu broke out on Jan. 23, governments at all levels took resolute control measures, paving way for the day to lift the isolation, said, Bi Qiang, a regional government officialin charge of bird flu control.

It had been confirmed that ducks dying in a farm in Dingdang Town, Long'an County, were caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. The local governments slaughtered 14,000 poultry within a three km radius of the duck farm, and vaccinated all poultry within five km of the duck farm.

The area had been closed off in accordance with China's Law on Animal Epidemic Prevention. Enditem

China's first town hit by bird flu lifted out of isolation

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Bird flu control spokesman with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said here Sunday that the birdflu in Dingdang Town of Long'an County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, had been uprooted and the area had been lifted out of isolation.

The ministry received a report from Guangxi that no new bird flu cases had been discovered or confirmed for a succession of over 21 days since the last poultry in the affected area of the town was slaughtered as stipulated. An outbreak of the deadly H5N1strain of bird flu was reported on Jan. 23.

"We are told that emergent quarantine measures such as isolation, culling of poultry confirmed of bird flu, disinfection of poultry farms, as well as inoculation of poultry being threatened by bird flu were carried out around Dingdang Town, and the local quarantine officers of Guangxi supervised the quarantine efforts at the area," said the spokesman.

Experts who were sent to assess the result of the bird flu control efforts concluded that the outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu found in Dingdang Town had been uprooted and the area met the requirements for being lifting out of isolation as stipulated in the Emergent Countermeasures Against Bird Flu of China and Technical Standards Regarding Fight Against Bird Flu.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture urged local organizations for supervision over animal quarantine to tighten the monitoring of bird flu in Dingdang and to prevent the occurrence of new bird flu cases. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/22/content_1325548.htm

RT-PCR Method to Detect Bird Flu Virus in 4 Hours

China has developed a method to test for the bird flu virus in four hours, much shorter than the 21 days taken by the internationally-accepted detection method recommended by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), according to a meeting held Saturday in Beijing.

The new method of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was jointly developed by the Beijing Administration for Entry-and-Exit Inspection and Quarantine and a company in Shenzhen, south Guangdong Province.

The method has been assessed and approved by experts from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Agricultural University of China, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2004)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/2004/Feb/87363.htm

Foreign media allowed into China's bird flu site

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-13 23:27:06

BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Foreign media have been allowed into the Chinese mainland's first confirmed bird flu site to see for themselves the health of the residents.

The journalists toured the quarantined Dingdang township in Long'an county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the first access by foreign journalists since avian influenza was reported on Jan. 27 on the Chinese mainland.

They were permitted to enter the disease-hit duck farm and interview its owner, Huang Shengde, who reported massive deaths ofhis ducks on Jan. 23. Four days later, his duck field was confirmed as affected by the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. Huang, who has since been under quarantine, was in good health.

"I had heard rumors that Huang was also affected and sick, but now he looks good and healthy," said Tong Jingzhi, a Reuters cameraman.

"Medical staff come and take my temperature every day and send daily necessities," Huang told the media.

Reuters photographer Niu Guang said he thought controls over the infected site were tough, but life was normal in the non-affected areas. About 14 reporters from 10 media organizations participated in the trip.

"We are willing to invite overseas media because this will helppeople around the world understand what's happening there," said Zhan Anling, an official with the Information Office of the State Council, which organized the visit.

Early this month, some foreign media published articles declaring that human infections of bird flu had been found in China and that China was the source of the epidemic. The official spokesman of the Chinese government firmly refuted the claims as groundless.

Medical experts conducted thorough examinations after the firstoutbreak and they still lack enough evidence to confirm the sourceof the epidemic, said Bi Qiang, Guangxi's senior official in charge of treating bird flu, in a briefing with the overseas reporters.

Some scientists said migratory birds might be the source, but they didn't have enough proof, Bi said.

Transparency, openness, and cooperation were needed to fight the disease, he said, adding that the government was trying to do this. So far, the disease had been contained and no human infections reported, he said.

Bird flu has already caused deaths in Vietnam and Thailand.

After the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confirmed the ducks at Huang Shengde's farm died of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, the local government slaughtered all poultry within a three-kilometer radius and vaccination was implemented within five kilometers. The affected site was then cordoned off and remains in quarantine. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/13/content_1313974.htm

No bird flu human-to-human transmission: WHO

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-12 17:24:15

HANOI, Feb. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The genetic sequencing analysis of viruses taken from two Vietnamese sisters showed that there are no possibilities of person-to-person transmission of bird flu, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"WHO has today received the results from a study of virus isolated from a 23-year-old woman who is part of a family cluster in Vietnam under investigation as the first possible instance of human-to-human transmission. Virus genetic material from this woman, as for the other case in this cluster, is of avian origin and contains no human influenza genes," it announced on its website on Thursday.

Earlier, the organization announced a similar testing result for other case in the cluster, 30-year-old sister of the 23-year-old woman.

The findings indicate that H5N1 has not changed to a form easily transmitted from one person to another, it said, adding that "no illness has been reported in other family members, in the local community, or in health workers involved in care of these patients."

However, Bob Dietz, spokesman of WHO in Vietnam, told Xinhua onThursday that, "The results are encouraging, but unfortunately, they are still not the conclusive proof we need to fully discount the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus."

Pascale Brudon, representative of WHO in the country, echoed his statement by saying that the results did not exclude a very limited person-to-person transmission of H5N1.

The cluster involves a 31-year-old man, his two sisters, and his 28-year-old wife in Vietnam's northern Thai Binh Province. Theman named Ngo Le Hung, a schoolteacher, died on Jan. 12 in the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in the capital city of Hanoi.

After having a temperature on Jan. 6, Hung was admitted to the Thai Binh Hospital which said he had showed symptoms of flu for three days. On Jan. 9, provincial doctors decided to transfer him to Hanoi. In the city, he was cared by many people, including two of his younger sisters, Ngo Le Hanh and Ngo Le Hong, his newly-wed wife named Phung Thi Ngoc Anh, and his mother-in-law Nguyen Thi Nguyet.

One day after Hung's death, his sisters and Ngoc Anh were hospitalized, although his wife had no symptoms of flu. Then, the wife was discharged from hospital, but both of the two sisters died on Jan. 23. The two sisters were confirmed to have contracted H5N1. Meanwhile, no samples of his brother were available for testing since his body was cremated. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/12/content_1311971.htm

China confirms more bird flu cases (Feb.8)

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 09, 2004

China's Ministry of Agriculture on Sunday received a report from the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory confirming the previously suspected outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu in six areas.

The sites were: Xiangyang District of Xiangfan City in Hubei Province; Chang'an District in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province;Gaolan County in Gansu Province; Pingjiang County in Hunan Province; Haifeng County in Guangdong Province; and Yongkang City in Zhejiang Province.

Suspected bird flu cases were reported Sunday in Xingning District of Nanning City in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in Doumen District of Zhuhai City and Maogang District of Maoming City in Guangdong Province. Local governments have taken measures to bring the disease under control and no human infections have been reported.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/09/eng20040209_134272.shtml

China develops gene chip able to detect several hundred pathogenic organisms

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Backed by National 863 Program, State Research Center for Bio-Tech Engineering and Beijing Jin Di Ke BioTech Institute have, after five years' research, established a Genome-Specific Probe Database for viruses already known to human beings and some other pathogenic organisms, and developed the high-density gene chip able to detect several hundred kinds of pathogenic organisms.

Experts noted that the system can detect swiftly pathogenic organisms that are making troubles in human lives and identify quickly the unidentified viruses, thereby laying an important base for the pathogenic organism monitoring and control system to be established nationwide.

In the face of more and more pathogenic organisms and bacteria human beings fall short of effective means in detecting and controlling them. Presently common methods, nucleic acid amplification test and serum test as such are unable to examine several kinds of viruses at one time, thus unable to meet the requirements under the new situation.

Five years ago, efforts have been made by Chinese scientists to establish a system for the monitoring and control of pathogenic organisms. "The establishment of a complete database specific-virus test probe, including over 3,000 specific probes for over 300 kinds of viruses related to human diseases, can help detect over 300 kinds of pathogens at one time. The daily production of chips can reach 100 to 200", said Shu Yuelong, vice president of Beijing Jin Di Ke BioTech Institute.

Scientists have established a series of gene chips with different functions. They can be used to detect respiratory and intestinal viruses and pathogenic organisms in the air. They've also established a method for collecting the clinical specimens of respiratory viruses of efficiency five to ten times more than that over the original.

By People's Daily Online

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/10/eng20040210_134425.shtml

Bird flu-hit areas required to provide daily report on human infection

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-08 11:23:01

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese Ministry of Health has asked all areas affected by bird flu to submit a daily report on cases of human infection of the highly contagious disease, including report of zero cases.

All institutions for medical care and disease prevention and control, personnel engaged in medical care, quarantine and diseasecontrol, self-employed medical workers and computer network managers of the disease control sector should be responsible for the reporting, according to the ministry.

Once a case or suspected case of human infection is found, the reporter must fill in the sheet of infectious disease according to law and inform, without delay, the local disease prevention and control center of the finding through telephone, fax or computer network, while at the same time taking immediate measures to curb the spread of the disease.

All the other work units and individuals in these areas are also obligated to report such cases once they are found.

The report on cases for the past 24 hours should be delivered to local disease prevention and control agencies before 10 a.m. everyday, the ministry said. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/08/content_1303634.htm

China provides urgent aid to 6 Asian countries for bird flu

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-06 21:24:13

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue announced here Friday that the Chinese government decided to immediately offer urgent aid to six Asian countries suffering from avian influenza.

The six countries are Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and Pakistan, Zhang said.

She said the bird flu, which has hit some regions in Asia, including China, has caused damage to people's property and security.

The spokeswoman said China will continue to offer support to the countries concerned in the combat against the bird flu and strengthen regional and international cooperation.

China is also willing to join with the Asian countries concerned as well as international organizations to make due contributions in the fight against the epidemic, the spokeswoman said. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/06/content_1302738.htm

PD Commentator: Taking resolute blocking action against bird flu

Today (February 4) People's Daily carries its commentator's article entitled "Taking resolute blocking actions for the prevention and control of bird flu". The article says that recently, the highly pathogenic bird flu epidemic has occurred in some Chinese regions one after another. The Party Central Committee and the State Council pay high attention to this, have quickly taken a series of major decisions, and clearly put forward guidelines, policies and measures for the work of prevention and control. Various regions and departments concerned have immediately gone into actions and have exerted their utmost to prevent the spread of the epidemic disease in accordance with the plans of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. At present, nationwide work of preventing and controlling bird flu is being carried out in an intense and orderly manner.

Highly pathogenic bird flu is a kind of rapidly spreading and greatly harmful animal epidemic, it seriously endangers the production of animal husbandry and the health and security of the masses of people. Doing the work of preventing and controlling the highly pathogenic bird flu conscientiously and effectively concerns the health and safety of the people, the development of agriculture and increase in farmers' incomes, and overall economic development and social stability. Guided by the important thought of the "three represents" and following the requirements of the "Animal Anti-epidemic Law of the People's Republic of China", various regions and departments should strengthen leadership, act in close coordination, rely on science, do the work of prevention and control according to law and on a mass basis and handle cases in a resolute manner. In the spirit of being highly responsible for the people, they should conscientiously carry out various preventive and control measures and bring this resolute blocking action against bird flu to success.

The article holds that China has an expansive territory, a strong mobility of humans, animals and birds, thus entailing great difficulty in the prevention of epidemic diseases; in some areas the backward styles of production and life, the imperfect anti-epidemic system, plus the serious epidemic situation in surrounding countries and regions--these factors have caused China to face a grim situation in its work of preventing and controlling bird flu and have made the task very arduous. Various regions and departments must have a clear understanding of the situation, achieve unity of thinking, overcome negligent sentiment and the idea of trusting to luck, regard the work of preventing and controlling bird flu as a major task for the present, put this task high on the agenda and grasp it firmly and do it well.

The article remarks that we should pay high attention to the highly pathogenic bird flu, but at the same time should not be blindly panic-stricken, instead, we must establish the confidence of sure victory over it.

To carry the blocking action for the prevention and control of bird flu to success, Party committees and governments at all levels should enhance their sense of responsibility and urgency, persist in taking persons as primary, attach great importance to the life and property safety of the people to make sure that ideological understanding, work measures, harmony and coordination, and policy guarantee are in place, and ensure the implementation of various measures for prevention and control of the epidemic. Party committees and governments at various levels should make overall planning and do the work of social and economic development and social stability in an all-round and proper way. We should attach equal importance to rural work: We should unswervingly grasp the work of preventing and controlling the bird flu, while at the same time do not slacken efforts to boost agricultural production and increase farmers' incomes, we should pay attention to the prevention and control of the epidemic disease and grasp various other fields of work in an overall and proper way. Departments concerned should engage in early study and formulation of supporting policies, and help farmers regain production capacity and through development reduce losses caused by the epidemic. At present, spring plowing will soon begin, local authorities should make preparations for plowing and sowing and help farmers solve their practical problems arising in spring plowing and production.

The article believes that under the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as the General Secretary, so long as we reinforce confidence, enhance enthusiasm, unite as one and press forward despite difficulties, we will certainly be able to take initiatives into our own hands and win final victory.

By People's Daily Online

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/04/eng20040204_133904.shtml

Three features for bird flu in mainland

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-05 10:07:18

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, outbreaks in China have three features, a press release by the Ministry of Agriculture issued at a press conference on bird flu situations said on Thursday.

Firstly, they occurred in spots that widely scatter. Secondly, the situations were more serious in southern China, while outbreaks were reported largely in central, eastern and southern China. Thirdly, the virulence of the virus was relatively stronger, according to the press release.

Besides causing disease and death in large number of chickens, the sub-type H5N1 strain that affected Chinese mainland can also cause disease and death in other poultry such as ducks and geese. In bird flu cases found so far in China, 16 cases are with chickens, 5 with ducks, and 2 with geese.

By February 4, there have been altogether 23 bird flu cases in China, including 18 suspected cases, and 5 confirmed ones since the first confirmed case was announced on January 27. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/05/content_1299584.htm

China has no human infections of H5N1 strain bird flu: official

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-05 11:34:37

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Vice Health Minister Wang Longde said China so far has no human infection cases of H5N1 strain birdflu that was pestering parts of Chinese mainland.

At a press conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture on bird flu situations on Chinese mainland Thursday, Wang said there was no cases of human infections were found based on the tight surveillance networks of the Ministry of Health. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/05/content_1299939.htm

China Acts to Control Rampant Bird Flu

With more avian flu reports cropping up in China, the nation is faced with great challenges in preventing further spread of the disease. The Chinese government has, however, promised an aggressive effort towards containing the epidemic. During his inspection of affected areas, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sent a message to local people that, although a tough job, the government will step up its efforts to deal with the disease.

The deadly avian influenza has fast spread throughout China. The Chinese Premier toured parts of the central Hubei and eastern Anhui provinces affected by the flu and promised compensation for farmers. Central authorities have issued strict guidelines to try and control further spread. All poultry found within five kilometers of affected sites must be vaccinated. And all birds, even the vaccinated ones, found within Three kilometers of affected sites, must be culled.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said: "Even if fowl have been vaccinated, they still have to be slaughtered. I hope people can understand that. "

With regard to the reported outbreak of the bird flu in 10 provinces and municipalities around the country, the Premier said while preventing human infection is very important, attention must also be paid to protecting the poultry industry. To help cope with the disease, the State Council has established National Bird Flu Prevention Headquarters to coordinate prevention measures. Chinese analysts have so far not found evidence to link the Chinese outbreaks.

Li Wanyou, veterinary specialist with National Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service, said: "The epidemic is still developing. I think the major reason of the outbreak is a lack of adequate raising conditions for poultry, and the temperature. Some birds' immune systems have failed to resist virus attacks, but these cases do not seem connected."

Li said migrant birds are still suspected to have carried the virus to domesticated flocks. The Chinese Ministry of Health says that so far, there have been no known human cases of infection. The Chinese government and the WHO have both repudiated claims that the virus originated in China. There are, as yet, no clear answers as to where it originated, nor how it develops. But China has, at least, improved mechanisms to cope with the spread of an epidemic.

Although avian flu has spread rapidly in China, last year's experience of SARS has left the authorities and people better equipped to cope with the new challenge. (CCTV.com February 3, 2004)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/features/bird/86149.htm

There will be No Highly Pathogenic Bird Flu Epidemic in China

By: Tony Pau

The following discussion is according to my experience and study of China as a country. This is also based my observation of the pre- and post- SARS attack in China during 2003.

I do not believe that there will be a large scale "Highly Pathogenic Bird Flu Epidemic" in China in the near future. By that I mean I do not expect to see a lot of people get sick( or die) due to Bird Flu and patients cross infect each other in a large number. China today has a system to prevent this situation to happen. The following observation is how I derive my conclusion.

As a Government you can only do your best to educate the population and set up the necessary preparation, but it is very hard to control the movement of wild migratory birds. The virus, is believed, to be delivered by these wild migratory birds.

China has an expansive territory, a strong mobility of humans, animals and birds, thus entailing great difficulty in the prevention of epidemic diseases; in some areas the backward styles of production and life, the imperfect anti-epidemic system, plus the serious epidemic situation in surrounding countries and regions--these factors have caused China to face a grim situation in its work of preventing and controlling bird flu and have made the task very arduous. China needs a strategic which involves Three Mayor Factors to win this war.

The Three Major factors related to the victory against highly pathogenic Bird Flu:

1. Science and Technology.

You need the latest and state-of-the-art technology level to prevent and control the highly pathogenic Bird Flu situation. China has developed some scientific techniques based on their past experience. Further, China has developed the necessary Research and Development Team in the field related to Bird Flu. Of course, a lot of invaluable experience came from the SARS Attack during 2003.

Decisive measures would be taken to quarantine the infected areas, while the culling and safe disposal of all poultry at infected sites and in surrounding areas within a 3-kilometer radius would be carried out, along with compulsory vaccination of poultry in areas within 5 kilometers.

Preventive and control measures would be taken in non-infected areas, putting the principle focus of prevention and control on areas surrounding infected sites, key production regions, key breeding farms, large-scale poultry farms, specialized large poultry-farming households, large transportation house holds, and large processing households.

Rigorous medical monitoring and prevention of bird-to-human transmission, the prevention and control of the avian influenza through enhanced scientific research and public education campaigns.

China had established complete networks for disease control and animal monitoring, comprising 300 monitoring stations directly under the control of the ministry and 147 disease surveillance points on its borders.

Improve the compensation policy for culls and compulsory immunization and facilitate access to resources such as funds, vaccines, medicines, equipment and other materials as well as technical measures.

2. Attitude/Confidence of the Population.

You need the population who can stay calm and peaceful, when an epidemic situation occurred. In some other nations the population may go into blindly panic-stricken and start to go into a purchase frenzy which can easily destroy the general economy of the nation. At the moment the population in China is cool and no evidence of panic has been reported. Why ? It is partly based on the experience with the fight against SARS in 2003, and partly based on the trust with their Central Government. The general public knows that the Chinese Government ( in all levels) will do the right thing and will lead them out of this disaster. In the case of epidemic you need to control the attitude of the population in order to prevent chaos and shark frenzy, and you can only do it with the help of the public media.

The public media( radio, TV, newspapers, magazines and websites ) in China has behaved in a very responsible way, since the beginning of this Bird Flu situation. All the data and news came out in an orderly and trustworthy manner.

It is pleased to hear that in January, 2004 the local media and WHO received the information of the Bird Flu out break at GuangXi Province almost at the same time.

It is this transparency and trust, which let China to result in this calm and peaceful status.

It is this well cultured and decently educated Chinese population, who so far avoided the blindly panic-stricken and chaos in the Bird Flu situation.

History will tell that this 'cool and calm' status will be essential for the further development of the China general economy in the rest of this century.

This invaluable experience from China should be learned by other developing nations in rest of the world.

3. Leadership.

Some one has to take charge and have the situation under control. Without the proper leadership things can easily begin to go into chaos. In an epidemic situation you need the right population to remain calm and peaceful but this can only happen with the right leadership. It is through matriculate planning, elaborate preparation and perfect team work that their leaders can bring the whole population out of this disaster. In the case of Bird Flu in China, it is the leaders of China Central Government who have the charisma to take on the leadership. The population in China loves their Central Government leaders.

In line with the urgent circulation by the State Council, the heads of local governments would be entirely responsible and liable while following strictly the regulations and they would be held responsible for neglect of their duties.

The task of the Government of China has been stated in << Peoples' Daily >>:

"...Guided by the important thought of the "three represents" and following the requirements of the "Animal Anti-epidemic Law of the People's Republic of China", various regions and departments should strengthen leadership, act in close coordination, rely on science, do the work of prevention and control according to law and on a mass basis and handle cases in a resolute manner. In the spirit of being highly responsible for the people, they should conscientiously carry out various preventive and control measures and bring this resolute blocking action against bird flu to success..."

The following scenario has happened repeatedly whenever there was a suspicious situation occurred in China:

1. The areas will be quarantined. The vehicles in and out of the areas will be checked and disinfected.

2. An emergency office will be set up to direct the traffic and manage logistics.

3. The poultry farms, within 3 square kilometers, will have all the birds destroyed in a humane manner.

Deep burial for the poultry remains and its waste.

The disaster areas will be disinfected.

4. The poultry, within 5 square kilometers, will receive compulsory vaccination.

The poultry farm houses will be disinfected.

5. Starting from Feb. 5, the Ministry of Agriculture would launch the new release system to inform the public of the epidemic situation and provide other relevant information.

Officials and technical teams will provide the training and education to the villagers.

6. The rest of the population(including poultry market shown below) remains calm as usual and runs smoothly on everyday business.

Together with the help of professionals in disease control, general public with the experience gained from fight against SARS last year, and varous government departments under the leadership of the State Council; the population of China will definitely win the battle against avian influenza.

WHO admits faster spreading of bird flu virus

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-04 17:55:31

MANILA, Feb. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The bird flu virus appears to be older and more established than initially thought and is spreading faster than experts can get to it, a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman said Wednesday.

"The speed with which the virus is spreading suggests that nowhere in the region (Asia) is safe," the Philippine Star daily on-line news quoted Peter Cordingley, spokesman for the WHO Western Pacific Regional office, as saying. "The virus is spreading faster than we can get to it," he added.

"We think the virus has been around a lot longer than initially thought. It's quite well embedded in some areas," Cordingley said, noting that bird flu might have emerged "as far back as the middle of last year."

While wild migratory birds may have spread the virus, Cordingley said there appears to be no date yet whether it could go beyond the region.

"We have no idea whether it could spread beyond Asia," Cordingley said but added "the chances of it showing up in Europe for example, are very slight."

The culling of birds, the ban on import of poultry from affected areas and improved hygiene measures all would help control the spread, he added.

About 10 Asian countries and region were affected by the bird flu virus, with the death toll from the disease rising to around 14 and tens of thousands of chickens were killed to keep the disease from spreading.

Experts fear that bird flu might combine with the human influenza virus to create a new strain that could be easily transmitted to humans to cause a rapid spreading. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/04/content_1298642.htm

China confirms another bird flu outbreak

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-04 20:01:12

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed a previously suspected outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in Chenggong County in Yunnan Province, southwest China. The confirmation was based on the report from the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory. No person has been reported to have contracted the disease so far.

The local government has been taking measures including fowl slaughter and compulsory vaccination to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

In addition, the ministry on Wednesday announced two more areas where suspected outbreaks of bird flu cases have been found.

The two areas are Guandu District of Kunming, Yunnan's capital city, and Gaolan County of Gansu Province, northwest China.

As soon as the suspected cases were spotted, local governments began slaughtering chickens and implementing compulsory vaccination. Samples have been sent to the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/04/content_1298714.htm

China reports a new diagnosed SARS case

www.chinaview.cn 2004-01-31 17:48:35

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- China's Health Ministry announced here Saturday that a new diagnosed SARS case was confirmed in the southern Guangdong Province, increasing the number of SARS cases on the Chinese mainland to four this year.

But the patient, a 40-year-old man surnamed Liu, was already discharged from hospital several days ago upon total recovery, the ministry's spokesman said.

All the people including nine in close contact and 39 in loose contact with Liu have undergone medical observation or home quarantine and showed no abnormal symptoms, said the spokesman.

The spokesman said the patient, a doctor in a hospital of the provincial capital Guangzhou, developed fever on Jan. 7, 2004. He had a body temperature of 37.4 Celsius, accompanied by sour throat, snuffle and tiredness.

The patient went to a clinic of the No. 1 hospital attached to the Guangzhou Medical College on Jan. 13 and chest X-ray on Jan. 14 showed inflammation on his right middle lung.

On the early morning of Jan. 16, the patient's body temperature reached 39 Celsius. He went to the outpatient department of afore-mentioned hospital and was hospitalized in the hospital's department for respiratory diseases. The diagnose to the patient then was pneumonia.

After bacterio phage treatment, the patient got normal temperature on Jan. 18 and since then remained in stable condition. The spokesman said the patient denied having had any contact with animals or SARS patients recently. During the SARS outbreak last year, he neither had infected with SARS nor had had any contact with SARS patients.

On Jan. 18, the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC) together with Guangzhou CDC carried out laboratory tests on the patient's blood and throat samples. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests turned out negative.

On Jan. 23, antibody tests showed positive on the patient's blood samples and the antibody levels increased by four times. Based on the tests results, on Jan. 24 the Guangzhou experts team diagnosed the case as a suspected SARS case.

On Jan. 25, the Guangdong provincial experts team discussed the tests results of the case and believed the patient can be diagnosed as a SARS case. The spokesman said the Health Ministry received reports from the Guangdong provincial health bureau on Jan. 26 and then appointed the China National CDC to check the samples of the case.

On Jan. 27, the PCR tests done by the National CDC on the patient's feces and throat samples turned out negative, but antibody tests on the blood samples showed positive.

The spokesman said the patient's samples were then sent to the network laboratories of the World Health Organization (WHO) for verification.

On Jan. 30, the tests results of the WHO network laboratories showed that the PCR tests were positive on the patient's blood samples collected on Jan. 14 and feces samples of Jan. 20, but negative on the feces samples of Jan. 24, the spokesman said.

Based on all the tests results, the experts believed the case can be diagnosed as a SARS case, the spokesman said, adding that the Health Ministry has forwarded relevant information to the WHO China office.

Except for the diagnosed case in Guangdong, no diagnosed or suspected SARS case was reported in other places of China during the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry's SARS monitoring report. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/31/content_1293203.htm

Bird flu control a "tough job" for China: Premier

www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-02 15:22:59

Premier Wen Jiabao talks with a rural woman in the suburbs of Ma'anshan City, a bird flu-hit area, in east China's Anhui Province Jan. 31. (Xinhua Photo)

Premier shakes hands with an elderly farmer at the latter's home in the suburbs of Wuxue City in central China's Hubei Province Feb. 1. (Xinhua Photo)

WUHAN, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Premier Wen Jiabao urged governments at all levels to attach greater importance to preventing the bird flu epidemic, during his inspection tour on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 of two affected regions.

Bird flu prevention was a tough job for China, said Wen when visiting Shima Village of Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province, and Shifosi Town of Wuxue City, central Hubei Province.

The two places were declared to have confirmed and suspected cases of bird flu last Friday.

The conditions for bird raising in most rural areas of China were still backward, which made the prevention work especially difficult, said Wen. He asked officials at all levels to attach greater importance to the disease and reinforce the prevention efforts.

China's central authorities have issued guidelines and a series of policies on avian influenza prevention and local departments should strictly follow and implement them, he said.

Regions with reported bird flu cases should take decisive measures to firmly control the spread of the disease and those with no reported cases should be well prepared for bird flu control.

The premier also urged the strict implementation of compensation for farmers affected by bird flu.

Local governments should conduct public education campaigns about the disease, said Wen. He said it was an important task to prevent human infection of the disease.

Efforts should also go into agricultural production and raising farmers' incomes, he said.

Wen also inspected the local veterinary station during his tour and extended greetings to the veterinarians fighting to control the disease.

So far, confirmed bird flu cases were found in Long'an County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, and Wugang City, Hunan Province, and Wuxue, Hubei. East China's Shanghai City and Anhui Province and south China's Guangdong Province have reported suspected cases. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/02/content_1295179.htm

Compensation for farmers affected by bird flu

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/02/eng20040202_133635.shtml

The governments in bird flu-hit areas of China have begun giving compensation packages to farmers whose poultry were slaughtered during emergency efforts nationwide to check the spread of bird flu.

A compensation team from the local government reached Zhanglingshang Village of Wuxue City, central China's Hubei Province, where bird flu cases had been reported, on Friday to pay he farmers. According to the city's animal epidemic control headquarters, there were a total of 3,600 farmers in three towns involved in the compensation, and the municipal authorities have raised over one million yuan (122,000 US dollars) in fund to compensate.

Ma'anshan City, in east China's Anhui Province, has been compensating farmers for their 1,716 head of poultry that have been slaughtered. The compensation was made in three villages, including 1,102 farmers, around a local chicken farm where suspect bird flu cases were found.

Starting on Feb. 2, the government of Nanhui District of Shanghai will spend 6 million yuan (723,000 US dollars) to compensate farmers. Some 300,000 head of poultry in Kangqiao area of Nanhui were slain.

In Long'an County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the government destroyed 14,000 head of poultry in the areas around a duck farm where bird flu cases were reported, and quarantined all poultry five kilometers around the duck farm. Most farmers in Long'an have gotten compensation from the government. The compensation was not available so far for only a small portion of poultry that were killed in the open country because they were unable to identify their owners to date.

The government of Wugang City, in central China's province of Hunan, has completed the compensation work.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/02/eng20040202_133635.shtml

WHO refutes claims that bird flu virus originated from China

www.chinaview.cn 2004-01-31 13:24:00

GENEVA, Jan. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- There is no evidence whatever to support the claims that China is the source of the bird flu virus, and there is no clear answer yet as to where the virus originated, World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said.

More than 20 WHO labs are currently conducting tests on samples of the bird flu virus collected from the Asian countries, Chaib told a news conference here on Friday.

She also advised that staff workers on poultry farms strengthen sterilization measures, including wearing protective clothing and masks of N95-type, and that those exposed to poultry wash their hands promptly.

WHO looks forward to working closely with China 's Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, Chaib added. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/31/content_1293060.htm

National Bird Flu Prevention Headquarters founded

www.chinaview.cn 2004-01-30 23:28:44

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The State Council on Friday decided to establish the National Bird Flu Prevention Headquarters in an effort to intensify the prevention and control work on bird flu.

Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu was appointed director-general of the headquarters, and State Councilor Hua Jianmin was appointed deputy director-general.

The headquarters consists of the State Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Commerceand General Administration of Customs.

The headquarters office was located in the Ministry of Agriculture. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/30/content_1292740.htm

WHO praises China over SARS, adds word of caution

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 24, 2004

The World Health Organization offered New Year praise to China on Jan. 23 for its efforts in containing the SARS virus, but stressed that it was too early to say the health scare was over.

The third Chinese patient diagnosed with SARS this year left hospital on the first day of the Year of the Monkey on Thursday, following the discharge of two others with clean bills of health.

"Contact tracing is working pretty well and the system in place is far stronger than last year,"

WHO spokesman Roy Wadia told Reuters, praising China's practice of isolating suspect cases for 14 days.

"But it is too early to say there won't be any more cases." SARS first emerged in Guangdong in late 2002 and was spread by travelers to more than 30 countries, infecting about 8,000 people and killing nearly 800.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese are on the move during the Lunar New Year break, sparking tighter health controls at all ports, railway stations and airports. A center for disease prevention and control had even been set up the far-flung autonomous region of Tibet, Xinhua said. Source: China Daily/Agencies

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200401/24/eng20040124_133235.shtml

Epidemic Detection Plan Launched

The "Epidemic Detection Plan," a new program for the prevention and control of new infectious diseases, was launched in China recently. The purpose of the program is to apply effective means and technologies to rapidly screen, detect, identify, trace, diagnose and treat new infectious diseases, while taking necessary quarantine measures and sending out alarm at the same time.

The plan, jointly launched by the Ministry of Health and the Health Section of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), involves such major research projects as working out testing methods for new infectious diseases in China and those may possibly be exported to the country; pathogen-testing technologies for new infectious diseases; identifying and clinical diagnosing system; early alarming and clinical technologies for curing internal body organ dysfunction caused by infectious diseases; and research on transmission area of new infectious diseases in China.

According to sources from the Department of Rural and Social Development of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China has launched a key research project, New Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Technology and Its Application, with an input of 60 million yuan (US$7.25 million). It is listed as one of the major projects for China's 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-2005).

The project is based on the fact that new infectious diseases are threatening the world; some have been rampant in China and others are possibly spread to the country. How to prevent new infectious diseases has become a serious issue drawing concern from the global health and medicine circles.Jiang Suchun, an epidemic expert and professor with the No. 302 PLA Hospital, explained that "new infectious diseases" are referred to those that either attacked the country in the past two or three decades, or have been brought into China recently, as well as those that have new variations. Some are newly found and others have pathogenic variations, such as flu. This disease detection plan shows the cooperation between military and civilian professionals. It will help discern diseases timely and accurately, ascertaining the transmission channels and means and setting a timely alarm. (China.org.cn by Guo Xiaohong January 19, 2004)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/2004/Jan/85164.htm

Guangdong's third SARS patient discharged from hospital

www.chinaview.cn 2004-01-21 15:53:03

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The third SARS patient in Guangdong Province, a 35-year-old private businessman, was discharged from hospital Wednesday, according to the Chinese Health Ministry.

"None of the 28 people in contact with him has developed fever or shown other abnormal symptoms and all of them have been removedfrom isolation and medical observation," the ministry said in its daily monitoring report of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The ministry said no new SARS cases had been reported around the country during the past 24 hours from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Three diagnosed SARS cases had been reported on the Chinese mainland so far this year, all in Guangdong. "All of them have been discharged from hospital after recovery," said the ministry.

The other two cases, involving a 32-year-old TV producer and a 20-year-old waitress, were discharged from hospital earlier this month. Nobody in contact with them have been infected. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/21/content_1286233.htm

WHO: Big SARS outbreak unlikely in China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 01, 2004

WHO expert inspects suspected SARS case in Guangzhou

A World Health Organization (WHO) official said Wednesday, Dec.31, that WHO believes China's anti-SARS system is now strong enough to prevent a big SARS outbreak.

"The system is much stronger than it was and even if we were to see some sporadic cases, we believe the system is strong enough to prevent a big outbreak like we saw at the beginning of this year," Julie Hall, SARS team leader of the WHO China office, told Xinhua. She said WHO could see the government was committed and aware, "it is working extremely hard trying to get a diagnosis on the case and to ensure that all precautionary measures have been put in place".

"The Guangdong case was detected and reported very early, and it was reported promptly to the WHO and responses have been quick in terms of isolating the patient, the contact tracing and other investigations," Hall said. Experts discuss suspected SARS case

"It's very important that the laboratory findings are confirmed and reconfirmed. And we were very grateful for the large amount of information that Chinese government has provided to us," she said. As for the reason for there being no final diagnosis to the suspected case, Hall said it was very difficult diagnose SARS.

"Unfortunately, we don't have one test that if it came up positive that we would definitely say this case is SARS. A great number of tests need to be performed, not just for SARS but for many other diseases that can cause pneumonia," she said. "Only when we have the results of all those tests and we have consistent results from a number of different laboratories, then we would be able to make a firm diagnosis. But that takes time," she said.

According to Wednesday's reports from the Chinese Health Ministry, the suspected SARS case in south China remained as a suspected case only. The patient was in stable situation and no-one who had been in close contact with the patient showed abnormal symptoms, noted the MOH. Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200401/01/eng20040101_131681.shtml