The government has agreed to a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to test more species of migratory birds for avian flu in the northwestern province of Qinghai, international health experts said in Beijing yesterday. 

"The outbreak is declining and the number of birds dying is reducing," said Julie Hall, a senior Beijing-based WHO official, who visited the province with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other WHO representatives last week.

But birds are still dying in Qinghai at a rate of 20 a day, said Hall, adding that the government has agreed to test other birds to see if they are carriers capable of infecting species in other areas and to share the results with the international community.

The WHO-FAO team's other recommendations were to: tag and track birds, test non-migratory birds and conduct environmental sampling and decontamination; protect domestic animals from infection from wild birds and test horses and pigs; and send samples collected from people to Beijing for more advanced tests.

China confirmed the bird flu outbreak in Qinghai on May 21, saying tests showed the deaths of wild birds were caused by the H5N1 virus, which could mutate into a strain that could be fatal to humans.

Samples from 12 dead birds have been sent to the national laboratory in Harbin, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, for testing.

Migratory birds are still on Bird Islet on Lake Qinghai but they will begin flying to other parts of China and neighboring countries in about a month, Hall said, and increased testing is "vital if we are to give early warning to other provinces and countries."

The local government has culled domestic birds, vaccinated all 2-3 million poultry in the province and closed all live poultry markets.

China Daily reported today that only two of nearly 600 people who had had contact with wild birds had turned up for testing at township clinics despite an awareness campaign.

Noureddin Mona, an FAO representative in China, said measures China had taken in Qinghai so far were effective.

The WHO-FAO team was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and the State Forestry Administration.

"We see full commitment from governments at all levels in combating the disease," Mona said.

"The mission was very successful and fruitful, diminishing the gap between what was and what should be done in the region," said Henk Bekedam, WHO representative.

"Dealing with wild birds in China can be used as a model by other countries for prevention and control," Bekedam said.

(China Daily June 29, 2005)