The Chinese Ministry of Communications on Wednesday urged local communications sectors to strengthen quarantine inspection of cross-border vehicles in an emergency notice.

The ministry required its branches to do a special check and disinfection of those vehicles from the bird flu contaminated countries and regions, keeping on guard against allowing in infected poultry products.

The ministry made the announcement in regard to a series of highly infectious bird flu cases found in some areas of the country and some of its neighboring countries and regions.

The notice also lays out the precautionary work for communications authorities of the infected areas in China, according to which the local sectors are to act promptly in the presence of bird flu cases to prevent the disease from spreading through transport.

The ministry firmly forbids transportation of live fowl liable to be infected in and out of infected areas as well as poultry products liable to be infected out of infected areas. The communications authorities at all levels and transporters are supposed to detain fowl and poultry products on sight and hand over to related departments.

In addition, to ensure smooth transportation, the ministry also stresses that no regions, departments or persons are entitled to set up any road checkpoint to interfere in regular transportation unless it is approved by provincial governments.

Transportation of urgent materials is also on the top of the agenda. The ministry calls for all administrations of communications to dedicate more efforts to ensure the fast and prompt transport of urgent materials including medical supplies and living substances for the infected areas.

Currently, the Ministry of Communications has set up a leading group to guide the work of highly infectious bird flu control.

For those areas not infected with the epidemic, the ministry demands prompt-acting plans from relevant transportation sectors to deal with the possible outbreak of bird flu.

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2004)