- BEIJING (AFP) -- China said
it had made the first ever discovery of a deadly strain of bird flu in
pigs, a development that could have ominous implications for efforts to
restrict the disease's spread to humans.
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- Scientists detected the lethal H5N1 virus in pigs tested
in 2003 and again in others this year, China National Avian Influenza Reference
Laboratory director Chen Hualan told a conference.
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- United Nations health and agricultural officials said
they had not been informed about the find by the Chinese government and
were immediately seeking confirmation.
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- "A very important point is that in 2003 and 2004
we started finding this virus in pigs in different areas in China,"
Chen said in a presentation at the International Symposium on the Prevention
and Control of SARS and Avian Flu.
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- "This is a rather dangerous signal in terms of public
health."
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- The highly respected scientist later told journalists
the H5N1 virus was discovered in pigs in southeast China's Fujian province
in 2003 and in "another place" in 2004, but only in one farm.
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- "It is not just the first time it has been found
in China but in the world," Chen said.
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- H5N1 is the most deadly strain of the bird flu virus
and has killed 27 people across Asia this year.
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- The UN's World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Chen's remarks were the first they
had heard of the new development.
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- "I think it's something we've long warned can happen.
I don't think we're shocked, but we need more details," said WHO spokesman
Roy Wadia.
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- "If it's confirmed, it's a new chapter that's been
written in the bird flu story."
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- Scientists have warned that if pigs are infected, the
virus could mutate to a more lethal form that could spread more easily
to humans because pigs are a "mixing vessel" in which viruses
swap genes.
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- Until now H5N1 had been found only in poultry and while
it was suspected to be carried by swine no cases in pigs had been officially
reported, FAO officials said.
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- Thailand, Vietnam and China have all recently reported
new cases of bird flu in poultry following outbreaks of the H5N1 virus
earlier this year that led to the culling of millions of birds, devastating
poultry industries.
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- Malaysia reported an outbreak earlier this week and was
scrambling to contain it.
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- Chen Friday refused to provide more details. It was unclear
whether she had been authorized to release the information or inadvertently
revealed it.
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- "We probably should not talk about this anymore....
Don't report it. Once it's reported, it will make a lot of people really
scared," she said.
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- Julie Hall, WHO's Beijing-based coordinator for communicable
disease surveillance and response, urged China and other countries to be
on alert and "think the worst case scenario".
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- "If the bird flu virus were to change significantly
and be able to jump more easily from animals to humans, we would obviously
be in a situation where we need to strengthen systems even further,"
Hall said.
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- Chen declined to say how China responded to the outbreak
of H5N1 in pigs and whether any had been culled. She said no human infections
had been detected.
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- The Ministry of Agriculture did not immediately comment.
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- The delayed announcement raised concerns China still
may not be as forthcoming as it should be, despite promising to keep international
health agencies well-informed after being criticized for covering up a
SARS outbreak last year.
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- The FAO said it wanted to find out from Chen's lab --
the chief facility in China for bird flu -- whether the pigs were actually
infected with the disease or whether they may have just been contaminated
by material from birds in the same farm.
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- "If we found it in the nostril, a superficial part
of the body, it would not be as significant. If we found it in an organ,
say the lungs, (especially in a sick pig) that would be significant,"
said Juan Lubroth, senior officer for animal health in the FAO's infectious
disease centre in Rome.
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- H5N1 is believed to have been found first in geese in
southern China. The exact source and way it is transmitted to humans is
still not known. No human vaccine is available.
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of Agence France Presse.
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