Romania confirms dead hens had bird flu

ROMANIA confirmed yesterday that dead hens discovered in a remote village had bird flu as Chinese officials warned that the threat to humans was growing as the winter flu months approached and ordered officials to stockpile emergency supplies.

Tests from an international laboratory in Britain confirmed that four hens from the remote village of Caraorman, unreachable by road, had the deadly strain.

In China, Yin Chengjie, a deputy Chinese agriculture minister, said bird flu was a “growing threat to human health”.

China’s latest outbreaks were its 16th and 17th in poultry in recent weeks and came despite a nationwide effort to vaccinate billions of poultry against the virulent H5N1 strain of the virus.

Yin, the Chinese official, warned that the disease’s virulence, or its ability to cause illness, appeared to be increasing. He pointed to rising numbers of cases in ducks and geese, while earlier outbreaks were limited to chickens.

Yin and other officials announced new rules requiring local Chinese officials to set up disease-warning networks and to stockpile disinfectant and other emergency supplies. Officials who fail to pinpoint and report outbreaks quickly face firing or jail.

The latest Chinese outbreaks in the northern region of Inner Mongolia and the central province of Hubei killed a total of 3,676 chickens, ducks and geese, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said authorities destroyed a total of 7,002 birds to contain the outbreaks.

China has reported one human fatality, plus the death of a girl who was a suspected case.

A Taiwanese research firm said it succeeded in making a key ingredient for the scarce antiviral drug Tamiflu - a possible step toward mass-producing a generic version. Indonesia was awaiting test results on a man who died in Jakarta.

Elsewhere in Europe, birds have tested positive for H5N1 in Russia, Croatia and Turkey.

In North Korea, a customs official said the isolated country has banned poultry imports from countries with bird flu and is scrutinising arriving travellers and goods.

North Korea suffered a bird flu outbreak in February that prompted it to destroy 210,000 chickens and other poultry.

In Indonesia, authorities were waiting for confirmation from a World Health Organisation-authorized lab in Hong Kong after preliminary tests on the 35- year-old man who died in Jakarta were positive for bird flu.

Throughout Asia, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 67 people since 2003.

The WHO has recommended that governments stockpile Tamiflu, one of the only drugs believed to be effective against bird flu. But Roche Holding AG says high demand and the lengthy period needed for production have led to shortages.

Taiwan’s government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute said it has produced shikimic acid, a key Tamiflu ingredient.

Taiwan has been negotiating with Roche for a possible license to make generic Tamiflu for a possible bird flu outbreak.