Bird Flu Outbreak Expands In China (UPDATE)
Seattle – Recent rumors of a possible bird flu outbreak have already made Chinese cautious of using poultry in the upcoming lunar New Year celebrations. Cases of bird flu have been reported in the Northern Province of China where four million people and about 1.5 million big animals have been reported to suffer. So far, the Chinese government has not admitted an outbreak. Although there is no direct link among the drought and the bird flu, but experts largely agree that cold climate or drought can make birds susceptible to H5N1 strain that is known to kill humans. Such conditions in the North can make the migratory birds cross with the local fowl to cross breed and thus spread the virus to remote regions.
Still the bigger concerns remain to be answered which includes eight cases of bird flu infection in China, this month. Five of these have already been fatal whereas a three year old girl was recently discharged from the hospital, making her the youngest ever Chinese survivor. The United States Food & Agriculture foundation is alarmed at the recent outbreak which is considerably higher then the entire previous year.
Such claims are further bolstered by some 21 birds and ducks washing up on Hong Kong shore. At least three of these birds are known to have tested positive for the H5N1 virus. According to officials in Hong Kong, there are neither poultry farms around the place nor any traces of illegal trade. They are now checking the current flow from the mainland China as theory abound that the flock of dead birds might have originated from Northern China.
It is now widely believed that Chinese Ministry of Agriculture is trying to hide the real facts. Since first detected, the bird flu virus has killed more than 300,000 people worldwide and its news gets instant press coverage. It should be noticed that SARS outbreak, in 2003, was heavily criticized by the World which blamed Chinese government to hide important facts which could have contributed to saving hundreds of precious lives.
Not all the strains of bird flu virus are dangerous and there are no cases of its transfer from human to human, therefore it is concluded that the deaths in Northern China was a direct result of eating the infected meat. So far, Chinese government has not made any official declaration but Hong Kong authorities are fervently trying to track down the case of dead birds. Hong Kong, in the past had incidents of smuggled contaminated poultry hence the recent investigations with their Chinese counterparts in the Pearl River Delta region might provide important clues to the mystery of the birds. What makes this investigation more difficult is virtually hundreds of tributaries heading to mainland China into the regions which scarcely reported any bird flu in the past.