Posted on 11/23/2005 7:20:32 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
China: Bird flu 'serious epidemic'
Beijing reports new outbreaks; New bans against Canadian poultry
HONG KONG, China (AP) -- China called bird flu a "serious epidemic" and reported three new outbreaks of the deadly virus in different parts of the country, while Canada announced multiple new cases but stressed they are not the virulent strain that has swept across Asia.
China's grim description Tuesday came as it reported its 18th, 19th and 20th outbreaks since late last month. The latest cases resulted in the killing of nearly 175,000 birds. The massive nation -- where billions of poultry are being vaccinated -- has reported one human fatality and one suspected death.
"The government is making all efforts to combat bird flu, which is a serious epidemic in China," Liu Jianchao, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters at a routine briefing.
Liu added that China was still "facing serious challenges" and that the country "will step up our efforts in order to resolve this bird flu issue."
The official Xinhua News Agency said that an outbreak in Urumqi, the capital of the far western region of Xinjiang, killed 38 birds on Nov. 16, prompting the culling of 8,388 birds.
Another in western Ningxia province's Yinchuan city on Nov. 17 killed 230 poultry, with 66,800 culled. On the same day in the southern province of Yunnan, 2,500 birds died in the city of Chuxiong, and authorities later put 99,400 birds to death, Xinhua said.
"The situation is currently under control in the three affected areas," Xinhua said, citing the Agriculture Ministry.
Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan followed the United States in temporarily halting poultry imports from mainland British Columbia after Canadian officials said they found a duck infected with bird flu.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Ping!
I didn't read this ... just one question ...
Is this really being hyped up or the serious threat they believe it to be?
No matter how much they contain it, it's the wild birds that we must worry about. Correct?
The pandemic appears to have taken flight!
When it broke out in Canada, hundreds of people were exposed but only Chinese people got sick.
I'm wondering how deadly it actually is to other ethnic groups.
The outbreak in Canada was SARS, not bird flu (I think there's a difference), and if I remember correctly, there were some non-Asian elderly who got sick too.
From what I've read, the threat is real. The potential is there. That does not mean that it will become a pandemic. But if it does, it will rush through populations so fast that we will not have time to deal adequately with it. We need to prepare now. Bird flues are not new, but some are much worse than others. This is similar to the one that hit in 1918, I believe. We need to take it very seriously.
Yeah, migrating wild birds are infected. They pass it to domesticated birds, and eventually to some humans.
You cannot shoot down all wild birds in long-distance flight.:(
We spent some time in China, and most Chinese are exposed to poultry on a daily basis. They get their food from open air markets, full of all kinds of animals, poultry included, which are butchered on the spot. Also, in front of many restaurants are cages with poultry, rabbits, snakes, etc, that they butcher as needed.
If (and this may be a big if) the Chinese are telling the truth, and the report of one fatality is correct, it would seem to indicate that at this time, the jump of the virus from birds to humans must not be that contagious.
I think what everybody worries about is whether the virus will mutate to a point where it's contagious, human to human.
Real, but hyped.
Tiger = coul you post a link to that article you translated from Boxun the other day? About the over 300 humans dead and the 5000 quarantined? TIA!
Why is THIS particular one different than the others?
Forgive my lack of knowledge on this stuff. One bird flu seems to be the same as another to me.
Maybe it can hit Hyannisport, work its way over to Beacon Hill and finish up somewhere in San Francisco.
Apparently they are very different. Unfortunately, I'm not a scientist. This one is H5N1 and this one is bad because it works so fast in the body that if a person gets it, it's almost too late. Even if they get proper medication. There's more about it, I'm sure, but this is what I remember. There is an excellent researcher out of the University of Minnesota who has written about this. If I can remember his name, I'll try and find a link.
I'll check.
Here's the link to the article Michael Osterholm wrote this summer. I heard this man on Bill Bennett's radio show and he sounded credible to me.
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20050701faessay84402/michael-t-osterholm/preparing-for-the-next-pandemic.html
I imagine it has more to do with lifestyle and the proximity of domestic birds to people than ethnicity.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.