From MeatNews.com word about China

CHINA: A Chinese official says the country has killed nearly three million birds to keep bird flu from spreading.

China’s chief veterinary officer, Jia Youling, has announced the country has killed 2.94 million birds so far this year to control bird flu.

Jia says there have been 10 outbreaks in seven provinces during the period, with 90,000 poultry infected and 47,000 of them died.

He says 3,641 migratory birds have died of bird flu in Qinghai province and Tibet in west China this year.

In addition, a total of 20 human infections have been reported in China since 2005, and 13 of the cases took place so far this year.

Jia denied the existence and spread of a new strain of H5N1 bird flu called ‘Fujian-like virus’, as was suggested in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of the United States.

Jia said, “The data used in the article are erroneous and the research methodology is unscientific. The conclusions of the paper are untenable and contravene the facts.”

Web posted: November 15, 2006
Category: Food Safety
In Europe:Chris Harris, Editor or
In North America: Bryan Salvage, Editorial Director