China intensifies human bird flu prevention
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-19 00:31

China has intensified its efforts to prevent possible outbreak of human infection of bird flu following the first two human cases were confirmed in the country Wednesday.

The two confirmed cases involve a nine-year-old boy in Xiangtan County of Hunan Province and a 24-year-old woman farmer in Zongyang County of Anhui Province.

The boy has been discharged from hospital after recovery. The woman died on Nov. 10, according to the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, the ministry reported the boy's 12-year-old sister, who had similar symptoms as her brother and died on Oct. 17, as a suspected human case of bird flu infection.

To prevent outbreak of bird flu infection among human beings, Anhui Provincial Headquarters for Prevention and Control of Bird Flu has set up six special teams to deal with emergent occurrence of human cases of bird flu and worked out a series of measures against of the outbreak.

The measures include government and concerned department officials signing a contract of responsibility, compulsory vaccination of poultry, and proper handling of dead poultry and poultry died of unknown reasons.

The provincial health authorities have allocated 60 million of bird flu vaccine, 10 tons of disinfectant liquid medicine, 2,000 sets of exposure suits and a group of disinfectant instruments to concerned localities in preparation of the outbreak.

Local governments of all levels and the general public are urged to report timely whenever cases of poultry death occur. The provincial health authorities urged local hospitals to open hotlines for consultation and appointed some hospitals to specially treat humans infected with bird flu virus.

Xiangtan City of Hunan Province embarked a new round of prevention of human infection of bird flu starting Thursday after China's first two human cases was confirmed Wednesday.

In order to dispel panic among the public, local newspapers, TV and radio stations are required to carry or broadcast cases of the nine-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister who is dead, how they were treated in hospital and publicize knowledge on how to prevent human infection of bird flu.

Local medical institutions and hospitals are urged to get fully prepared in terms of materials for medical use, personnel and technically, and all medical workers are required to conduct investigation of factors related to the epidemic on patients with body temperature higher than 38 degrees Centigrade and cough.

In Xiangtan County where deadly bird flu H5N1 cases among poultry and a confirmed human case of bird flu were reported, medical observation will continue on all people who were formerly monitored after the outbreak. The nine-year-old boy and his family members will be under special monitoring. And all people who participated in culling poultry will also be under medical observation for a period of time in the future.