China denies new bird flu strain reported by a US science journal

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-10-2006 17:11

The Chinese government has denied the existence of a new strain of H5N1 bird flu in East China's Fujian Province, after reports by a US science journal. China's chief veterinarian Jia Youling said the report lacks scientific proof.

In a recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers from Hong Kong and the United States reported that a new strain of H5N1 bird flu was similar to the one first isolated in the eastern Chinese province of Fujian in 2005. They report it has become prevalent in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand. Jia Youling rejected the report today at a conference hosted by the State Council Informantion Office.

China's chief veterinarian officer Jia Youling said, "There is no 'Fujian like' virus variant at all. There are no grounds for the assertion that the outbreak of bird flu in Southeast Asia was caused by China's bird flu virus or that there will be a new world outbreak. The data cited in the article was not authentic, and the research methodology was not based on science."

At a press conference in Geneva, Chinese Minister of Health Gao Qiang said in-depth research and analysis had been carried out by Chinese experts. He said the US report does not reflect the real situation in China. Gao went on to say the so-called Fujian-like virus is not a new variant of the H5N1 virus. And he concluded there has been no radical mutation of the H5N1 virus, and the danger of serious infection does not exist.

Editor:Sun Luying