China culls 370,000 birds after outbreak of deadly virus

CHINA reported its fourth bird flu outbreak in three weeks, saying 8,940 chickens died in a northeastern village despite a nationwide effort to contain the virus.

The discovery prompted authorities to destroy about 370,000 birds.

Authorities in Japan have detected signs of bird flu at a northern farm and plan to kill 180,000 chickens after they detected antibodies in some for the H5 family of bird flu virus. The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the only one that has spread to humans, has not yet been detected in Japan but the less virulent H5N2 strain hit the country last year.

Japan's Agriculture Ministry said it ordered 30 farms across the country to undergo testing because previous tests there had been carried out by private veterinarians. Spokesman Hirofumi Kugita said this called the results into question.

Vietnam also confirmed bird flu outbreaks in three northern villages, despite stepped up efforts to fight the disease. Vice chairman of Bac Giang province's People's Committee, Nguyen Dang Khoa, said more than 3,000 poultry died or were killed this week in the province.

Transporting poultry to or from the villages was banned, and the towns and those around them have been disinfected and remaining poultry vaccinated, he said. In one of the villages, about a dozen local officials yesterday went from house to house, beating to death any poultry they found.

In Thailand, where 13 people have died from the H5N1 strain, the head of the state drug production company said the country could as early as February begin distributing its own generic version of Oseltamivir, considered one of the most effective anti-viral drugs to treat bird flu.

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche developed Oseltamivir, better known as Tamiflu, but cannot keep up with demand from countries trying to stockpile the drug, which is in short supply worldwide.

Roche confirmed Tamiflu is not patented in Thailand and the country could manufacture it without compensating the company. It also offered Thailand its expertise in making the drug, saying it was "interested in ensuring the best possible global preparedness for a potential pandemic threat."

Hong Kong said it was banning the import of live chickens and poultry meat from the bird flu-affected Chinese province of Liaoning. Hong Kong does not import live poultry from Liaoning, but has imported 14,300 tons of poultry meat from the province this year.

China has not reported any human infections, but experts say one is inevitable if it cannot stop repeated outbreaks in poultry. Health experts worry the virus might be spread by migrating wild birds.

The H5N1 strain has ravaged Southeast Asia since 2003 and killed at least 62 people. Most cases came from contact with infected poultry. But health authorities are concerned the deadly strain could mutate into a form easily spread from person to person and cause a global pandemic.

Cambodia's Health Ministry said it has only enough Tamiflu to treat about 100 people should the country face a flu pandemic.

Its neighbour Vietnam accounts for 91 of the region's 122 human cases, and 41 of its 62 fatalities, according to the World Health Organisation.

The drug shortage presents a real challenge for the impoverished nation, which has appealed for donors to help it prepare for future outbreaks of bird flu.