China steps up vigilance against bird flu

Chinese officials have drastically stepped up their vigilance against bird flu in regions along the border with Vietnam, where a series of outbreaks have been reported recently, state media said Monday.
Makeshift facilities have been set up at strategic points along the 1,280-kilometer (800-mile) frontier with Vietnam and all poultry entering China is immediately killed and disinfected, Xinhua news agency reported.

Officials are also on guard against people and vehicles coming to China from Vietnam, and all are being checked and if necessary disinfected, according to the agency.

To encourage an all-out effort, officials have been warned that whoever does not do his best to prevent the spread of bird flu will be dealt with "harshly," Xinhua said.

The new Chinese measures came after Vietnamese authorities said last week outbreaks of bird flu had been reported in six provinces in Vietnam and 11,000 birds had been culled to try to contain the disease.

More than 120 million birds were killed or culled in two huge outbreaks throughout Asia this year of the H5N1 avian flu, a variant of a virus fatal to humans which claimed at least 32 lives this year.

China has said none of its nationals died from bird flu but it has admitted the flu had been discovered in 16 of its provinces and regions during earlier outbreaks this year.