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Published Date: 2005-11-06 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - East Asia (162): China, susp.
Archive Number: 20051106.3252

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (162): CHINA, SUSPECTED
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[1]
Date: Sun 6 Nov 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Xinhua News Agency, China Daily report, Sun 6 Nov 2005 [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-11/06/content_3740297.htm>

China: Human Case of Avian Influenza Virus Infection Not Ruled Out
-----------------------------------------------
The possibility of [avian influenza virus infection] in the 3
reported pneumonia cases in Hunan Province, including one death,
could not be ruled out, a Ministry of Health spokesman said. The
spokesman said the Ministry had invited the World Health Organization
experts to make a joint investigation and to find out the cause for the death.

3 people living in central China's Hunan province came down with
pneumonia from unknown causes last month [October 2005], following an
outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among local poultry. One of them, a
12-year-old girl, died. Her 9-year-old brother and a 36-year-old
middle school teacher recovered. Since all of them were from a bird
flu outbreak area and suffered from unknown kinds of pneumonia, the
spokesman said [avian influenza virus infection] could not be ruled
out, and further laboratory tests will have to be carried out. Such
tests are now being conducted by relevant laboratories under the
China Center for Disease Control, the spokesman said. Since the
causes could not be determined in a short time, China has invited WHO
experts to work with Chinese experts to find the cause. Earlier
reports said the girl and her brother had tested negative for the
bird flu virus.

There have been 4 outbreaks of the bird flu among poultry in China in
the past several weeks, respectively in Inner Mongolia, Anhui, Hunan
and Liaoning. Since late 2003, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has
ravaged poultry stocks and jumped from birds to humans. Most of the
human deaths, all in Southeast Asian countries, have been linked to
close contact with infected birds. But experts fear the virus could
mutate into a form easily passed among humans and possibly spark a
worldwide pandemic.

On 2 Oct 2005, Premier Wen Jiabao presided over a State Council
meeting in Beijing, and decided to earmark a special fund of 2
billion yuan (USD 246.6 million) out of the central budget for bird
flu control. "(We) must realize the severe and compelling situation
in bird flu control, maintain high vigilance, and never let down our
guard," he said a statement from a State Council (China's cabinet)
meeting. The size of the fund exactly matched the budget allocation
made in April 2003 to fight against the SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome) contagion.

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******
[2]
Date: Sun 6 Nov 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Sydney morning Herald, Associated Press report, Sun 6 Nov
2005 [edited]
<http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/who-to-check-suspected-chinese-bird-flu-cases/2005/11/06/1131211948730.html#>

China: WHO to Check Suspected Chinese Avian Influenza Cases
-----------------------------------------------
China says it has asked for help from the World Health Organization
in determining whether the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus killed a
12-year-old girl last month [October 2005] and affected 2 others. If
any of the cases are confirmed, it would be China's 1st reported case
of avian influenza in humans.

3 people living in central China's Hunan province came down with
pneumonia last month [October 2005], following an outbreak of H5N1
among local poultry, the official Xinhua news agency reported [see
above]. Of those, a 12-year-old girl died. Her 9-year-old brother and
a 36-year-old school teacher recovered from the illness. Chinese
officials initially said the girl and her brother had tested negative
for the virus. However on Sunday [6 Nov 2005], Xinhua said experts
"cannot rule out the possibility of human transmission of H5N1 bird
flu. The specific cause needs further laboratory tests."

China has asked the World Health Organization for help in testing
blood and throat swabs from the 3 victims, Xinhua reported. Roy
Wadia, a WHO spokesman in Beijing, confirmed that China approached
the agency for help last week. He did not give a specific date. "This
is a reiteration of how much of a public-health threat bird flu
really is," said Wadia. "Sometimes it takes a human case or a
suspected human case to raise the alarm, to remind us that no
country, whether China or anywhere else, can afford to be complacent."

Wadia said China and the WHO were still working out the details of
their cooperation. Samples might be sent to a WHO lab or WHO experts
might be asked to help Chinese officials perform the testing in
China, he said. Beijing has been criticized before for being slow to
share information on public health crises, including an outbreak of
severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, 2 years ago. SARS 1st
emerged in China's southern Guangdong province and killed almost 800
people worldwide before subsiding in 2003.

Wadia said he didn't think China had delayed its announcement of the
suspected cases, but it was instead trying to be thorough before
going public. "I think the information they have shared with us has
been shared as soon as they can corroborate it." Wadia also said it
was not unusual to have initial tests for a virus such as H5N1 come
back negative and then later to become positive.

The girl, He Yin, who came into "close contact with sick birds," died
on 13 Oct 2005, 3 days after developing a high fever, Xinhua said.
The girl's younger brother was hospitalized with similar symptoms but
recovered. The 3rd suspected victim, the school teacher, had
reportedly chopped raw chicken while suffering from a minor injury on
his hand and later fell ill, Xinhua said. All 3 lived in or near
Wantang, a village where the government says 545 chickens and ducks
died of bird flu last month [October 2005].

Also on Sunday [6 Nov 2005], 1700 officials and 100 police finished
culling about 370 000 birds in northern China's Liaoning province,
after bird flu killed 8940 chickens there. The outbreak in Liaoning's
Badaohao village, east of Beijing, was China's 4th reported outbreak
in 3 weeks. State television on Sunday showed dozens of officials in
white face masks and blue protective suits spraying disinfectant on
empty poultry cages and the wheels of vehicles.

Xinhua said late on Saturday [5 Nov 2005] that Badaohao lies along a
migration route used by migratory birds heading from East Asia to
Australia, contributing to fears that wild birds could spread the
disease. More than 20 magpies and other migratory birds had been
spotted in the area, it said, without giving further details. Chinese
authorities have said they are concerned that wild birds might spread
the virus, particularly following an outbreak last spring that killed
more than 6000 migratory geese and gulls at northwestern China's
Qinghai Lake. The State Forestry Bureau said last month it was
activating a reporting network to detect outbreaks among wild birds.

Under new regulations that came into effect in Beijing on Sunday [6
Nov 2005], anyone who fails to immunize their birds faces up to 15
days in prison and a 200 yuan (USD 34) fine, the Beijing Morning Post
reported. The rules, announced jointly by the Beijing Agricultural
Bureau and the Beijing Public Security Bureau, are aimed at ensuring
a 100 percent bird vaccination rate in the capital, the newspaper said.

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[Until the outcome of these supplementary tests become available, the
existence of overt human cases of avian H5N1 influenza virus remains
no more than speculation. So far, tests carried out in China have
proven negative. The Chinese authorities are to be commended,
however, for their willingness to cooperate with the WHO in resolving
the issue. - Mod.CP]

See Also