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Date: Tue 5 Sep 2006
From: Joe Dudley <jdudley@eaicorp.com>
Source: The Wall Street Journal Asia via Cattlenetwork.org [edited]
<http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=65509>
China acknowledged it hasn't given the World Health Organization any
bird flu samples taken from poultry since 2004, blaming the long
delay on talks over the protocol for how to hand over the virus to
international labs. "When viral strains cross international borders,
special protocols are needed and we are working to finish them," vice
director of the Ministry of Agriculture's veterinary department Li
Jinxiang said Tuesday.
International scientists say they need the bird flu samples from
poultry to study the development of the H5N1 virus that causes avian
flu and to help make drugs and vaccines to fight the disease. They're
also crucial to tracking any changes that could make bird flu easy to
catch from human-to-human contact, a transformation that could turn
it into a pandemic capable of killing millions. Already, more than
100 people have been killed since 2003, most, if not all, from
contact with infected birds. In March, China promised to hand over
poultry samples to the World Health Organization.
China has shared strains of the bird flu virus found in humans, but
hasn't shared any samples taken from animals since 2004, when it
provided samples from 5 animals. "There are no real logistical
reasons why the (poultry) virus can't be shared," said Julie Hall,
coordinator for the WHO Epidemic Alert and Response Team in Beijing.
"The Ministry of Health regularly shares (the human) H5N1 with us.
The logistics are there to transport these safely and quickly." Li
said that though the Ministry of Agriculture hasn't shared samples
from poultry, it has shared the results of laboratory tests,
including genetic information, with international agencies. Critics
say that's not enough.
They [presumably WH] accuse the Ministry of Agriculture of dragging
its feet in order to protect Chinese scientists who are working on
coming up with a vaccine or cure and could lose their competitive
edge if that information was made widely available. The WHO is under
fire by some scientists who say it isn't being transparent enough
with information about the virus. Advocates for opening up the WHO's
research database, which is now tightly restricted, say that lack of
information is slowing the search for a cure.
Li said China had vaccinated nearly 5 billion poultry in the first 6
months of 2006, and that authorities were monitoring for any signs of
resistance to vaccines. He said there were some problems reaching
more remote parts of China for vaccinations, as cross-contamination
with wild birds continues to cause outbreaks.
[Byline: Shai Oster <shai.oster@wsj.com>]
--
Joe Dudley
<jdudley@eaicorp.com>
Date: Tue 5 Sep 2006
From: Joe Dudley <jdudley@eaicorp.com>
Source: The Wall Street Journal Asia via Cattlenetwork.org [edited]
<http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=65509>
China acknowledged it hasn't given the World Health Organization any
bird flu samples taken from poultry since 2004, blaming the long
delay on talks over the protocol for how to hand over the virus to
international labs. "When viral strains cross international borders,
special protocols are needed and we are working to finish them," vice
director of the Ministry of Agriculture's veterinary department Li
Jinxiang said Tuesday.
International scientists say they need the bird flu samples from
poultry to study the development of the H5N1 virus that causes avian
flu and to help make drugs and vaccines to fight the disease. They're
also crucial to tracking any changes that could make bird flu easy to
catch from human-to-human contact, a transformation that could turn
it into a pandemic capable of killing millions. Already, more than
100 people have been killed since 2003, most, if not all, from
contact with infected birds. In March, China promised to hand over
poultry samples to the World Health Organization.
China has shared strains of the bird flu virus found in humans, but
hasn't shared any samples taken from animals since 2004, when it
provided samples from 5 animals. "There are no real logistical
reasons why the (poultry) virus can't be shared," said Julie Hall,
coordinator for the WHO Epidemic Alert and Response Team in Beijing.
"The Ministry of Health regularly shares (the human) H5N1 with us.
The logistics are there to transport these safely and quickly." Li
said that though the Ministry of Agriculture hasn't shared samples
from poultry, it has shared the results of laboratory tests,
including genetic information, with international agencies. Critics
say that's not enough.
They [presumably WH] accuse the Ministry of Agriculture of dragging
its feet in order to protect Chinese scientists who are working on
coming up with a vaccine or cure and could lose their competitive
edge if that information was made widely available. The WHO is under
fire by some scientists who say it isn't being transparent enough
with information about the virus. Advocates for opening up the WHO's
research database, which is now tightly restricted, say that lack of
information is slowing the search for a cure.
Li said China had vaccinated nearly 5 billion poultry in the first 6
months of 2006, and that authorities were monitoring for any signs of
resistance to vaccines. He said there were some problems reaching
more remote parts of China for vaccinations, as cross-contamination
with wild birds continues to cause outbreaks.
[Byline: Shai Oster <shai.oster@wsj.com>]
--
Joe Dudley
<jdudley@eaicorp.com>