Damage caused by wild rats to parts of China is worsening, with more affected areas reported, according to the State Forestry Administration (SFA).

Wild rats were reported to have caused damage to 1.2 million hectares of woodlands by the end of 2005, up 26 per cent on the previous year, said Wu Jian, chief engineer of the SFA's department of afforestation.

The affected area has now spread to 1.4 million hectares in 2006, according to a joint survey by three government agencies.

The SFA will hold a conference next month to seek solutions to the issue and to find ways to prevent damage and curb the possible spread of rat-borne plague.

"This year, we have to do more to prevent plague as the disease is likely to spread to more areas with the operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which will begin its trial passenger runs this July," Wu said.

Northwest China's Qinghai Province is a known plague area; the disease usually spreads via wild marmots carrying the disease bacterium.

In Qinghai, victims usually become infected by plague while hunting wild marmots. Its spread from human to human is well controlled in this area at present, as there is a lack of access to rail services linking the remote areas of the province to other provinces.

In the past, authorities have been able to contain the spread of plague by limiting movement of the victims; however, controlling an epidemic situation may prove more difficult when the Qinghai-Tibet Railway begins operation.

The disease can be contracted through breathing in airborne particles and through close contact with infected rodents.

Anyone carrying the plague may infect other train passengers and spread the disease by travelling further on a train.

"If so, more people will be endangered," Wu said.

(China Daily April 1, 2006)