Asia faces bird flu scare

cctv.com 01-14-2004 09:19

Vietnam and Japan are taking urgent measures to prevent a possible mass outbreak of bird flu. The World Health Organization says Asia is facing a new health scare, as the fast-spreading bird flu, has hit several countries in the region.

WHO Spokesman Peter Cordingley said, "We've now got three outbreaks in poultry of Avian influenza, that's South Korea at the last part of last year, the very southern parts of South Vietnam now, and now also, yesterday in Japan. "

The bird flu has ravaged parts of Japan. Health officials there have disinfected a poultry farm and ordered the slaughter of remaining chickens where some 6,000 birds were found to have died of the disease.

Japanese Agriculture Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei said, "We've disinfected the facilities where the virus was found. We're disposing of the affected birds and prohibiting movement of items in order to stop it from spreading. We are doing what we can."

Food safety experts say it's unlikely the virus would spread to people in Japan. There are few chances for people there to come in contact with live chickens.

But it's a different story in Vietnam. Laboratory results have already confirmed the disease which has killed at least three out of 12 people is Avian influenza. But the WHO says so far, there's been no evidence to link these deaths to the outbreak of bird flu.

Bird flu has wiped out nearly one million chickens in Vietnam. The outbreak has prompted health authorities to start removing weak chickens and any suspect poultry from the country's largest open market in Ho Chi Minh City.

In nearby Thailand, a major poultry exporter, the disease is cholera, not bird flu. The government has destroyed thousands of chickens since last November, and officials say the numbers have been increasing lately.

Editor:Xiao  Source:CCTV.com