China finds no bird flu outbreak after new death

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday that it had found no bird flu cases amongst poultry in Beijing or areas surrounding the city after a woman in the capital died of the H5N1 form of the virus.
Experts had fanned out to Beijing's neighboring city of Tianjin and Heibei province, which surrounds the capital and where the dead woman had bought ducks, the ministry said in a statement on its website (www.agri.gov.cn).
"After tests for the virus and an epidemiological investigation, no trace of the bird flu virus was found in these three areas," it said.
! `9 c( Q; W$ K3 U5 IThe 19-year-old died of the H5N1 virus after gutting ducks, which experts say highlights the role and risks of waterfowl in the transmission of the virus to humans.
It was the first such death in the country in almost a year, and the 21st to date in China.
* O% t, g3 }: H$ aThe virus is generally more active during the cooler months between October and March, although the new Chinese case points to holes in surveillance of the virus in poultry.
Experts also say that many species of ducks are natural reservoirs of the virus and unlike chickens, they show no signs of disease.
China's Agriculture Ministry said it would step up an inoculation campaign and surveillance for the disease.
# Y  c! R3 h$ ^* N( y1 T- w  T"The ministry has many times demanded that every part of the country must maintain a high state of alert to prevent the spread of bird flu and other animal viruses," it said.
The H5N1 strain remains largely a disease among birds but experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted among people and kill millions of people worldwide.
With the world's biggest poultry population and hundreds of millions of farmers raising birds in their backyards, China is seen as crucial in the global fight against bird flu.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Ralph Boulton)
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* Y; W1 ~* x( l4 Rhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNewsMolt/idUKTRE50641D20090108?sp=true

北京（路透社消息）
* e8 S/ o$ f" F6 l. z3 U3 {# C. Q上周四中国农业部称，自北京出现一例死于H5N1型禽流感病毒的女性患者后，北京及周边地区的家禽中未发现禽流感。

专家向天津、河北等北京周边省市公布，该例由于禽流感病毒死亡的女性病例曾在天津、河北这些北京周边地区买过鸭子，农业部对此也在官方网站上也做了以下声明：
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“病毒学检验和流行病学调查结果显示，北京、天津及河北三个省市并没有发现有禽流感病毒的传播。”
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0 o& L5 Y. `; R7 N该名19岁的病例在宰杀鸭子后死于H5N1型禽流感病毒，专家就此强调，禽类动物在禽流感病毒传播给人的过程中的所起的重要作用和存在的巨大风险。

该病例是本世纪迄今为止发生在中国境内的首例禽流感死亡病例。

禽流感病毒通常在11月到3月间比较寒冷的季节有较强的生物活性。发生在中国的人感染禽流感病毒的新病例提示官方，在动物中开展的病毒监测还存在漏洞。
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8 C* ?3 U) Z$ k6 u8 a专家还称，很多种类的鸭子是禽流感病毒的自然宿主。与鸡作为自然宿主不同的是，鸭子作为禽流感病毒的自然宿主并不表现出禽流感的症状。中国农业部称将增加灌溉运动并加强对禽流感的监测。
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“农业部多次要求地区各部门必须保持高警惕性和高敏感性，以阻止禽流感及其他动物病毒的传播。
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HN51型病毒株在很大程度上可导致禽类患病，但是专家担心该病毒可能会通过变异导致病毒在人类的传播，而且很可能造成世界范围内的人群大面积的死亡。
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% Q6 j5 \: S% V! H1 n4 v中国拥有世界最大的动物种群，而且中国有数百万的农民在自家庭院饲养禽类。因此，中国被看作是全球战胜禽流感的关键。

还好人与人之间是不会直接传播的