China bird flu has not
spread, no impact on poultry market: government
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[December 30, 2016]
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Ministry
of Agriculture said on Friday the recent outbreaks of bird flu have been
handled in a "timely and effective" manner without spreading and have
not affected chicken products or prices.
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In an emailed statement to Reuters, the government department said
the situation in the world's second-largest poultry consumer was
"stable".
The comments come as South Korea and neighboring countries battle
outbreaks of various strains of the highly virulent flu.
China has culled more than 170,000 birds in four provinces since
October and closed some live poultry markets after people and birds
were infected by strains of the avian flu.
On Friday, the government said it has recorded ten cases of poultry
being infected with the H5N6 strain this year compared with 11 last
year.
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"Each case has been handled timely and effectively without
spreading. Experts believe the poultry bird flu situation will
generally be stable despite some individual cases in some places,"
the statement said.
The ministry, together with local agriculture agencies, have
monitored and investigated poultry markets and farms where infected
people live, it said.
It has also searched for the source of the virus and conducted
emergency handling for infected poultry, as well as urged farmers,
butchers and traders to step up sterilization programs.
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Human infections of the H7N9 strain of bird flu killed two people in
China's Anhui province, the province's health authority said on Dec.
21. A total of 16 people are infected with the strain nationally.
The last major bird flu outbreak in mainland China - from late 2013
to early 2014 - killed 36 people and led to more than $6 billion in
losses for the agricultural sector.
(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Josephine Mason; Editing by Christian
Schmollinger)
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