Widespread flu unlikely, says top vet
The chances of another large-scale bird flu outbreak among poultry on the mainland this spring are minimal, says the country's top veterinarian.
Jia Youling, director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine Bureau, also rejected some experts' claims that vaccinated birds could still carry the virus. He said there was no evidence to prove this and any healthy bird that had been properly vaccinated would not carry the virus.
Of the 15 human cases of bird flu on the mainland, four had kept poultry at home and 11 lived in places that had not seen outbreaks among poultry. Mr Jia said this was also the case in other countries.
He said the virus could have been transmitted from birds to people in many ways - by contact with infected birds, eating birds that died from flu, or by inhaling the virus.
Mr Jia said there had been 35 bird flu outbreaks on the mainland since 2005 - all of which had been brought under control. About 194,000 birds fell ill and about 22.8 million poultry had been culled, he was quoted as saying by the Hong Kong China News Agency.
The central government has recorded 15 human cases of bird flu and 10 deaths.
Preventive measures meant there was only a small chance of an outbreak this spring, he said.
The State Food and Drug Administration has allowed human testing of a mainland-made version of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, Xinhua reported.
