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Bird flu provides a lesson

The rapid spread of lethal bird flu in Asia has sparked concerns about the outbreak's long-term impact on the poultry industry.
To prevent avian influenza from spreading further, experts in China and other infected regions are culling poultry and vaccinating thousands of fowl each day.
Some observers have opined these measures could prove to be a blessing in disguise because they will lead to improved living conditions for farmed foul. That's laudable, but perhaps the more important result is that farmers are being forced to realize the importance of maintaining sanitary conditions for their poultry stock.
Although there is so far no evidence to suggest the poor environment of poultry farms is a primary cause of the disease, there can be no doubt unsanitary farms and poorly outfitted live fowl markets increase the risk of spreading the virus.
Preventing domestic flocks from becoming infected is seen as the first line of defence.
To that aim, the Ministry of Agriculture has urged the country's chicken farmers to take measures to prevent contact between their stock and wild fowl, which scientists believe is the natural reservoir of bird flu viruses. They are also asked not to let their flocks to share a water source that might become contaminated by droppings from infected wild-bird carriers.
The ministry has also proposed substantial upgrading of disinfection and sanitation facilities on the farms.
On Tuesday, China's environmental watchdog demanded the country's breeding industry provide clean drinking water for poultry, as well as disinfecting the air in poultry coops and taking steps to eliminate fecal and sewage contamination of poultry.
Until now, it has been common practice for many poultry farmers to either squeeze their flocks into tiny quarters or let them roam free, putting commercial concerns ahead of any sanitary considerations.
In zoos where birds are kept for show, people are also improving the habitation of various species.
At the Beijing Zoo, the largest of its kind in China, workers have moved turkeys, which are believed to be particularly susceptible to epidemics, to separate quarters and provided more cages in order to alleviate crowding.
Although all these moves have been prompted by bird flu, people should endeavour to integrate the precautionary measures into their long-term behaviour patterns.
Just as public health facilities were improved after the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) last year, the current menace of avian influenza will force people to take a harder look at the living conditions of domestic flocks.
This will benefit humans and birds alike.

Bird flu fighting in full swing

Anhui Province has started an emergency mechanism for bird flu control and prevention soon after a new case of the disease was confirmed on Tuesday by the Agriculture Ministry.

A chicken death at a farm in Juchao District, in Chaohu City, was confirmed to be caused by H5N1, a highly pathogenic bird flu virus.

It was the first case after an earlier outbreak between January and March.

The local government has isolated the area around the farm in accordance with the Law on Animal Epidemic Prevention.

Ministry experts suspect the virus might be spread by migrants or wild water birds.

The provincial headquarters in charge of bird flu control and prevention said yesterday that countermeasures started immediately.

The headquarters was designed to take charge of the coordination of related departments and governments at all levels and sends officials to supervise the efforts to prevent the disease from spreading, especially to humans.

To ensure the implementation of the measures, the headquarters has resumed round-the-clock monitoring.

The provincial government has issued an urgent circular to demand local governments and related departments deal seriously with regular epidemic control measures, standardize control over poultry raising and strictly sterilize fowl farms.

The circular also said an epidemic monitoring system and a related information network should be established by local governments at all levels.

Supervision should focus on poultry farms and areas that had reported bird flu cases before and on those that were in danger.

According to the circular, the local governments should compensate those who suffer losses from the compulsory poultry vaccination and slaughter.

A responsibility system should be formed for related officials in the fight against the animal epidemic, the circular said.

Earlier reports said the local health authority has ordered the killing of all poultry within 3 kilometers of the farm and vaccinated all poultry within 5 kilometers of the affected area.

The Ministry of Agriculture has notified the Beijing office of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, and authorities in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

The ministry confirmed the first bird flu case caused by H5N1 on January 27%