China Faulted for Not Sharing Virus Samples
A senior World Health Organization official complained Friday that China has not shared with his agency any samples of a deadly bird flu virus strain from its dozens of outbreaks in poultry.
WHO Asia-Pacific Director Shigeru Omi said that sharing samples of the H5N1 virus is crucial to diagnosing new cases and developing a vaccine.
China’s Agriculture Ministry shared five samples collected from infected birds last year but has failed to provide any this year, Omi said.
“From the more than 31 reported outbreaks in animals from 2005, no [Chinese] viruses have been made available so far for the international community,” Omi said.
The Health Ministry agreed this week to give the WHO samples isolated from two of its six confirmed human cases of bird flu.
China has confirmed two human deaths and a suspected case in a 12-year-old girl who died.
It has reported 26 outbreaks in poultry since Oct. 19.
The H5N1 strain has killed at least 71 people in Asia since 2003.
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