China claims bird flu contained

BEIJING, Nov 20, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- China's minister of health Sunday said the country has brought avian influenza under control.

At the Shanghai Healthy City Forum, Gao Qiang said no new cases have been reported in 10 days in the area hardest hit by bird flu, Heishan County in Liaonang in northeast China, Xinhua, the official government news agency, reported.

"The spread of bird flu virus is caused mainly by migratory birds, and their migration has almost completed," Gao said.

China recently acknowledged its first cases of avian flu in humans. One of the victims, a young girl, died.

The country's handling of the SARS epidemic in 2003 raised questions about the government's willingness or ability to deal with infectious disease. But Gao maintained that the government has learned its lesson and has been dealing with avian influenza in a more systematic manner.

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