Inside China Today

News of bird flu strain outbreak still suppressed

A chicken plague which occurred over a month ago in cities in Jaingsu province has been confirmed as the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. While the outbreak occurred in early November, it was not until December 16 that the Chinese Communist authorities notified Hong Kong officials of the bird flu outbreak. Local residents claim that the government has covered up the outbreak, and the lack of supervision has meant that large numbers of the diseased dead chickens are sold to cities like Shanghai and Shangdon.
SOH earlier received confirmation by a veterinarian worker in Hai-An city that a chicken plague occurred there a month ago, and that chickens were dieing within 2 days of showing symptoms of fever, lack of appetite and green excrements. Tang-Yang county residents in Dong-Tai city complained that the local government has ignored the safety of humans, and  has stopped the media from reporting on the outbreak. It is also reported that due to the lack of regulatory oversight, many of the dead chickens have been frozen and sold by unscrupulous merchants to cities around China.

The outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in villages in Dongtai city began since early November, and over 120,000 chickens died from the disease.

The Chinese Communist Party did not reveal the truth behind the bird flue outbreak in Jiangsu province until December 16. The Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau received notification from China’s Ministry of Agriculture that the H5NA virus was detected in egg samples from Dongtai city, Hai-An county in Jiangsu province, and that over 370,000 poultry have been slaughtered. As a safety precaution, Hong Kong authorities have temporarily stopped the import of eggs from Jiangsu province.

The virus behind the outbreak has been confirmed as the H5N1 strain of avian influenza which can be deadly to humans. Organisations including the World Health Organisation has stated that Asian countries as well as others around the world should be on high alert against the H5N1 virus, as it can mutate into something spreadable by humans, and could cause a deadly outbreak.

The above news is hosted by Chris Thomas for Inside China Today on the SOH Radio Network