China reinstates daily bird flu reports

BEIJING, Oct 11 (Reuters) China has reinstated daily reporting of the results of bird flu monitoring, state media said today, after two outbreaks in the country's northwest earlier this month.

The daily reports, published on Xinhua news agency, were to prepare for the huge number of migratory birds expected to fly over the city in coming weeks.

''Autumn and winter are critical periods for bird flu outbreaks.

Officials should be aware of the dangers and should not underestimate the difficulty of controlling the virus,'' Xinhua news agency quoted Vice Minister of Agriculture Yin Chengjie as saying.

China announced two outbreaks of the H5N1 virus in the northwestern regions of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia in early October, which led to the culling of thousands of birds.

Yin has warned that China, home to the world's largest poultry population, still faced serious shortcomings in preventing the disease, with shortages of staff, funds and vaccines in its vast countryside.

Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that can be passed easily between people, leading to a possible pandemic.

China has already seen at least 21 human cases, including 14 deaths from the virus, and dozens of outbreaks in birds.

The Health Ministry's newspaper, Health News, reported that as of Wednesday there were no new human cases, but it quoted spokesman Mao Qunan as saying the country must strengthen its bird flu prevention work.

REUTERS SAM BST1148