FAO Officials Acknowledge China’s Efforts Against Bird Flu

The officials of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) on Wednesday acknowledged China"s success in curbing the spread of bird flu in this stage, but warning of a resurge of the epidemic.

In an interview by Xinhua reporters, Director of FAO Animal Production and Health Division Samuel C. Jutzi and chief of Animal Health Service DR J. Domenech praised China"s active attitude after the outbreak of bird flu.

The Chinese government has adopted effective measures to stop the spread of the disease, and increased transparency in information exchange by reporting to international organizations in time, they said.

The two officials also expressed appreciation for China"s efforts to work with other Asian countries in combating the epidemic.

But they warned that China should remain vigilant against the highly pathogenic avian influenza as other countries in Asia have not been cleared of the virus completely.

With the resumption of international trade and presence of migratory birds, the threat of the epidemic still exists now.

They suggested China take strict precaution and monitoring measures on poultry feeds and stocking places so that bird flu virus can be discovered and controlled without delay.

The FAO, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations will continue sending experts and offering more financial and technological assistance to affected Asian countries to help them stamp out bird flu as soon as possible.

China has eliminated all the 49 bird flu outbreaks in the Chinese mainland as the isolation of the last two bird flu-hit areas was lifted Tuesday in Nanning City of south China"s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Lhasa City of southwest China"s Tibet Autonomous Region.

Source: www.chinafeed.info