Farmers try to maintain normality despite bird flu

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 29, 2004

Farmers try to maintain normality despite bird flu

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Farmers and other rural residents of South China's Guangxi Xhuang Autonomous Region are striving to maintain normal life despite the outbreak of the potentially fatal "bird flu" virus and official measures to contain it.

The national avian influenza reference laboratory confirmed Tuesday that the death of ducks in a farm in Dingdang town, Long'an county, last week, was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.

However, the disease is not known to have spread to people in the province.

Xinhua reporters saw on Thursday morning that farmers were harvesting sugarcane in the fields, and trucks and tractors full carrying the crop to refineries.

Businesses were still bustling at local markets except that there were no poultry stands.

Villager Lu Chaoqian, of Dingdang town, said, "Government officials have not only been collecting domesticated chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons, but also those raised in the wild over the past few days."

All birds in the infected area have been slaughtered to prevent the flu from spreading.

Despite the effect of the cull on his livelihood, Lu said he and all other villagers supported the government's efforts to curb the spread of the epidemic.

"We get compensation for our ducks and chickens," said Lu.

The local government has paid farmers 25 yuan (3.02 US dollars)for a chicken, 15 yuan for a duck, 25 yuan for a goose and eight yuan for a pigeon.

The cases of bird flu in Guangxi came when the nation still immersed in the week-long Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, holiday.

"Though we have no chickens and ducks, we can buy mutton, beef and pork to celebrate the festival," said Lu Qingying, a villager of Yong'anli, two kilometers from Dingdang.

Health authorities in Guangxi have taken emergency measures to prevent the epidemic from spreading, following reports of bird flu in Dingdang. Medical workers have been sent to the area to monitor the situation and take effective measures to protect people from the disease.

Twenty-three people who had close contact with bird flu-infected ducks are being quarantined under medical monitoring.

Meanwhile, Guangxi has intensified efforts to implement 100 percent immunity in poultry in other parts of the region, especially in border and coastal areas and areas along highways and railways as well as places with developed poultry industries.

When cases of bird flu are identified, all poultry within three kilometers of the site must be slaughtered and all poultry within five kilometers must be inoculated immediately, according provincial regulations.

The regional government also requires officials to disinfect the site and to ban the movement of all poultry and poultry products from infected areas.

Meanwhile, in Wuxue, a city in central China's Hubei Province, poultry farmers were warned against the possible spread of the disease.

All birds within three kilometers of the Zhanglingshang village, where the suspected cases were reported, have been killed and all birds within five kilometers of the village have been inoculated.

Hubei provincial health authorities announced late Wednesday that farm owner Chen Lianfu, whose chicken farm was reported suspected bird flu cases, and his wife were not infected with the disease and health authorities had removed medical monitoring of 11 people who had close contact with the couple.

Sources with the Hubei provincial agriculture bureau said the disease was under control.

Suspected bird flu cases were also reported in Wugang city of Hunan, a province neighboring Hubei and Guangxi.

Local health and disease control departments have taken emergency measures to control the epidemic and prevent the disease from infecting people.

All infected poultry have been killed and poultry within five kilometers of Wugang city, where suspected cases were reported, are being vaccinated.

Television stations are broadcasting public awareness messages and measures on how to prevent the disease.

So far, no H5N1 virus infections in human beings have been found in China.

Source: Xinhua

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