The unseasonably mild temperatures in northern and central China
could aggravate the country's task of preventing a bird flu
outbreak, a senior official said on Monday.
Many migrant birds will stay longer in China where temperatures
are abnormally high this year, Vice Minister of Agriculture Yin
Chengjie told Xinhua.
"Firstly, the spring season is usually prone to bird flu.
Secondly, while the average temperature in north and central China
is higher than the past, migrant birds may stay longer within the
borders of China," Yin said.
"We have successfully stopped the spread of bird flu from
migrant birds in Qinghai and Tibet to human beings and domestic poultry.
Now, we need to intensify monitoring of bird migration and be on
high alert," he said.
China reported only 10 bird flu cases among domestic poultry
last year, down 68 percent from the previous year and 80 percent
from 2005, Yin said. No epidemic had been reported in China for
four months.
As the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 18, draws
closer, more livestock and domestic poultry will be transported and
distributed, increasing the need for quarantine and quality
inspections and raising the risk of the spread of the epidemic
across regions, Yin said.
He said that China would reinforce border control, secure the
quality and availability of vaccines and improve its emergency
response capability.
Last year, China vaccinated more than 95 percent of domestic
poultry and tracked 6.811 million epidemic samples.
To cope with the shortage of epidemic prevention staff in the
village and townships, the government has decided to train more
village veterinarians and animal epidemic prevention
technicians.
(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2007)