Homeland Security

China Reports Another Bird Flu Outbreak

By VOA News
25 November 2005

Chinese officials are reporting a new outbreak of bird flu in poultry, this time in northern China.

China's agriculture ministry said Friday that a state lab has confirmed that more than 200 birds died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Inner Mongolia. More than 16,000 birds have been culled in an effort to contain the outbreak.

Earlier Friday, Indonesia said it has received permission from Swiss drug giant Roche to locally produce Tamiflu, the drug thought to be most effective in treating bird flu in humans.

Indonesia is the second country to get the go-ahead to produce the anti-flu medicine, after Vietnam.

Nearly 70 people have died of bird flu in Asia since 2003.

Some information for this story provided by AP and Reuters.