The government of east China's farming province of Shandong, home to the 2.5 billion poultry, decided to allocate 30 million yuan (US$3.7 million) to keep out the bird flu that recently broke out in parts of China.

The decision was made because the prevention work is under great pressure, though no cases of bird flu have been found in the province, according to the provincial government.

About 14.7 percent of the country's 17.4 billion poultry were raised in Shandong, ranking first of all China's provinces, while the coastal province also provided important habitats for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds that flew from the north every winter.

Amid an all-out effort to disinfect all poultry farms in bordering areas and migratory bird resorts, the provincial authorities have ordered government departments at all levels to ensure efficient monitoring, diagnosis, and timely reporting of any bird flu case.

Meanwhile, 62 hospitals in Shandong were assigned as sites to monitor human cases of H5N1 bird flu virus that might mutate from poultry to humans, according to the provincial government.

Doctors and nurses in these hospitals are also being trained totreat human cases of bird flu, if any are found, and a handful of health experts were assembled as public counselors for virus prevention.

Bird flu outbreaks have been spotted in Anhui and Hunan provinces, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Liaoning Province since autumn.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2005)