2004Edition>News Center>World
         
 

U.N.: Tests on Vietnam pigs not reliable
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-02-07 15:04

Tests that found the deadly bird flu virus strain in nasal swabs from pigs in Vietnam are not reliable and do not mean that swine are involved in the outbreak ravaging Asian farms, U.N. officials said Friday. Two more people died of the disease, raising the death toll to 18.

A Vietnam representative of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization announced the test results early Friday in Hanoi, but experts at the agency's headquarters in Rome later distanced themselves from the finding.

The officials said the tests cited in Vietnam "do not conform to the standards established" by the World Organization for Animal Health, Peter Roeder, an FAO veterinary virologist and animal health expert, said in a statement issued by the agency.

Also Friday, doctors in Vietnam announced two additional deaths from bird flu, a 6-year-old girl from southern Dong Nai province and a 24-year-old man from central Lam Dong province, raising the total in that country to 13. Five people have died from the virus in Thailand.

Most human cases have been traced to direct contact with infected chickens. However, experts have said it's possible the virus can jump to humans through another mammal, such as pigs. Pigs have been implicated in human flu epidemics in the past.

"Right now, there is no justification for saying there is H5N1 virus infection in pigs in Vietnam," he said, referring to the lethal strain of avian influenza plaguing poultry across Asia.

The agency said it would not be surprising if sampling of nostrils of swine in any country affected by the outbreak led to detection of flu viruses in a small proportion of animals.

Swine are often housed with poultry in traditional family farms in Asia and are genetically more similar to humans than birds are. They eat off the ground and it's possible they might inhale infected chicken droppings.

But finding the virus in the nostrils does not necessarily mean that the pig is infected, the agency said. Swab tests can easily be contaminated and are considered only to be a sign that further testing is needed. A more conclusive test would entail isolating the virus from blood samples of the pigs.

Other scientists have tested hundreds of pigs in Vietnam during the current outbreak, using internationally approved methods, and have found no trace of the virus, FAO said.

"There's absolutely no data available that would indicate that swine are involved in what's happening in this epidemic of avian influenza," the agency said.

Also Friday, health officials in eastern China were looking into a mass death of brambling finches, a migratory sparrow-like bird that winters throughout China.

Bird flu has ravaged poultry farms across Asia and is continuing to spread. More than 50 million chickens have been culled to stem the spread of the disease. Ten governments are battling outbreaks.

The U.N. food and agriculture agency on Thursday backed the strategic use of chicken vaccination to help reduce the economic toll while still protecting human health,

The destruction of infected birds remains the main method of fighting the disease, but officials worry that because the outbreak is so widespread, governments will not be able to afford to compensate farmers for the loss of their poultry and people will therefore resist killing their chickens, which increases the risk of the disease spreading.

Health officials have warned that if the bird flu virus combines with a human influenza virus, the result could create a more lethal strain that can be passed from human to human. There is no evidence that this has happened.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

17 dead, 11 missing in deserted mine in Shanxi

 

   
 

Metro blast kills 39 Russians

 

   
 

Bird flu claims 2 more Vietnamese

 

   
 

`I was told my daughter had died'

 

   
 

Indonesia suffers another major earthquake Saturday

 

   
 

Tides swallow 15 Chinese in England

 

   
  U.N.: Tests on Vietnam pigs not reliable
   
  Explosion hits the Moscow metro, killing 40
   
  Israel considers moving Gaza settlers to West Bank
   
  Indonesia suffers another major earthquake Saturday
   
  US defends pardon of nuclear trafficker
   
  FAO: Bird flu virus found in pigs; Viet Nam denies
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  The evil root of all instability in the world today  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 午夜人屠h精品全集| 国产精品亚洲视频| 久久99国产精品久久| 欧美1区2区3区| 亚洲欧美另类色图| 91在线视频一区| 欧美黑人xxxx性高清版| 免费看黄a级毛片| 美女被羞羞网站免费下载| 国产国语一级毛片在线视频| youjizz护士| 国产麻豆成91| h电车侵犯动漫在线播放| 性生活片免费看| 中文字幕韩国电影| 日本午夜精品一区二区三区电影| 亚洲av片不卡无码久久| 欧美成人www在线观看网页| 亚洲精品白色在线发布| 男人扒开添女人下部免费视频| 午夜一区二区免费视频| 翁止熄痒禁伦短文合集免费视频| 国产偷久久久精品专区| 黑人一个接一个上来糟蹋| 国产欧美日韩精品专区| caoporn97在线视频| 国产精品日韩欧美一区二区| 99j久久精品久久久久久| 天天想你在线视频免费观看| www夜插内射视频网站| 思思99re66在线精品免费观看| 丰满少妇AAAAAA爰片毛片| 日韩A无V码在线播放| 久久综合给合久久狠狠狠97色| 极品艳短篇集500丝袜txt| 亚洲免费闲人蜜桃| 欧美人与物另类| 亚洲国产欧美日韩精品一区二区三区 | 激情综合色综合啪啪开心| 免费在线观看h| 男生和女生一起差差差很痛视频|