China denies WND report on bird flu

WASHINGTON – China's Ministry of Health today issued an official refutation of a WND report that a Japanese virologist claimed the country has witnessed several hundred deaths due to bird flu.

"The rumor is absolutely groundless," said spokesman Mao Qun'an in an interview with the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. "MOH has confirmed from the World Health Organization Beijing office that there was no Japanese expert in WHO's mission in Hunan Province early this month."

All the reports quoting this so-called Japanese expert said that China has had several hundred human fatalities from bird flu were unreasonable and without foundation, he stressed.

Officially, China so far reported three confirmed human cases of bird flu, including two deaths in east China's Anhui Province and one recovered case in central province of Hunan.

In the areas where bird flu outbreaks occurred, health authorities have put all the people who closely contacted with sick and dead poultry under strict medical observation. Surveillance, reporting and separate treatment of fever and respiratory cases have also been strengthened, said Mao.

MOH has made timely report to WHO, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and some countries on each confirmed case and has immediately released the information to the public as well, he said.

The Japanese expert named Masato Tashiro said last week that in Germany that bird flu has killed 300 people in China, including seven cases caused by human-to-human transmission.

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Expert: Bird-flu deaths in China actually at 300

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