Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Anti-avian Flu Campaign Intensified in DPRK

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

    Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- The anti-bird flu campaign has been intensified in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The State Veterinary and Anti-epizootic Emergency Commission has recently worked out regulations of anti-avian influenza work, emergency rules of action at the bird flu outbreak and a strategy for successfully preventing it. A preventive campaign is being dynamically conducted in accordance with them. The regulations specify the working system between the central organ and local ones and make it possible to ensure cooperation and uniformity in the anti-epidemic work. And the related units shall take steps to prevent people and domestic animals from being afflicted with bird flu and take counter-measures at the outbreak of such cases according to the established system and orders.
    The emergency rules of action have already been notified to the local units so as to develop the anti-avian flu campaign into a nation-wide one. The rules clarify in detail that all the industrial establishments, co-op farms and individual houses which are breeding poultry should be aware of the danger of the avian influenza and find out, report, deal with and control the case at the initial stage.
    The relevant units are bringing home the general knowledge on bird flu to the working people.
    Meanwhile, the strategy for successfully preventing bird influenza has been established to suit the actual conditions of the country in conformity with the recommendation of the 2nd FAO/OIE Regional Meeting on Avian Influenza Control in Asia held in Vietnam and the spirit of the FAO/OIE/WHO International Meeting for Making the Global Strategy for the Progressive Control of HPAI held in Thailand. And it is now carried into practice. The ten-year long strategy reflects such projects as to train enough technical personnel and lay a material foundation to effectively cope with bird flu, transboundary zoonoses and transboundary animal diseases and, immediately, to develop the rapid diagnostic kit for HPAI, extend the immunity and validity of vaccine, check the effectiveness of vaccination and other research works.