WHO says bird flu could jump to humans in China

Asian Economic News, Feb 17, 2004

BEIJING, Feb. 13 Kyodo

The spread of bird flu to humans in China is ''conceivable,'' a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman said Friday, but the agency has no evidence of human transmission here and does not plan to pursue any.

Bird flu, which has spread to poultry throughout China, might have spread to people, as it has in Southeast Asia, WHO spokesman Roy Wadia said.

Nineteen people have died in Vietnam, and five have died in Thailand. ''It was conceivable that China has human cases,'' he said.

In accordance with its policy, the WHO does not compile its own findings from China, instead waiting for official Chinese reports.

Chinese officials say no people have caught the disease in the 45 outbreak areas, which include suspected and confirmed cases. Among the latest confirmed cases are black swans at the Wild Animal Park in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

WHO officials visited an outbreak area in Jiangxi Province on Feb. 9 with Chinese authorities, and its experts continuously consult government health officials on bird flu culling and surveillance.

Some experts say the bird flu does not easily spread to poultry farmers because the farmers build up immunity through exposure over time. But children and outsiders are susceptible, they say.