Japan aborts bird flu all-clear as new cases confirmed

JAPAN confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu yesterday, thwarting its plans to declare an end to the scourge there, while China confirmed two more outbreaks among poultry in a central province.

Wed, 18 Feb, 2004 - 00:00

Miho Yoshikawa, Tokyo

The cases came a day after hard-hit Thailand's hopes of declaring victory in its war against the disease were dashed after it reported fresh outbreaks of the virulent H5N1 strain in nine provinces.

"This thing is still not under control," Hans Wagner, a senior official with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, said in Bangkok. "We have outbreaks in new geographical regions and recurring outbreaks where we had bird flu already. You can't expect to clear it up with one go."

In Japan, an agriculture ministry official said the fresh outbreak was reported at the southern end of the main island of Honshu, just a day before Japan expected to declare its sole outbreak of the virus over.

There was no immediate word on whether the deaths of seven chickens were, like the first outbreak, caused by the H5N1 virus that has killed at least 20 people in Thailand and Vietnam, the official said.

China yesterday confirmed two outbreaks of the H5N1 strain among poultry in central Hunan province. Fifteen of China's 31 provinces and major cities have confirmed outbreaks of the avian influenza.

Officials had said Japan was set to declare an end to its one confirmed outbreak of bird flu on a farm at the southern end of the main island of Honshu today, if there were no new cases.

Thailand had been similarly hopeful, saying it could declare victory by the end of this month over a virus that has led to the slaughter of 80 million poultry in eight countries affected by H5N1, which can leap between species.

But on Monday, it said the virus had been found in fighting cocks in areas of eight provinces where mass slaughters were carried out.

The infected fighting cocks were found in former "red zones" where the government had ordered the slaughter of poultry within a three-mile radius of an outbreak.