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Town lives through first bird flu case Except for checkpoints guarded with workers spraying disinfectant and farm roads covered with decontaminating lime, the place that reported China's first bird flu case a few weeks ago seems like any other village in the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Life appears blissfully normal in the village. The picture is rosy there now, a full 21 days after dead ducks there were diagnosed as having contracted the deadly H5N1 virus on January 27 led to the quarantining of a Dingdang neighbourhood. "The occurrence of bird flu in Dingdang Town is a mishap for the county, but the government has taken every possible and responsible measures to contain it," said Gan Qiangzhong, deputy magistrate of Long'an County in the southwest part of Guangxi. "I'm confident the epidemic zone will be able to pass the examinations of quarantine authorities and have its blockade removed after a period stipulated by relevant statutes." Dingdang is one of the six towns in Yong'an, a county with a population of 371,000. Dingdang Town is a very small village with a score of households. The local government has called it an "epidemic spot" rather than an epidemic area. It all started with farmer Huang Shengde, who reported to the Dingdang Town veterinary service on January 23 that more than 200 of his ducks had suddenly died. Thanks to enhanced vigilance by local officials against avian influenza, which has caused great distress among neighbouring nations in recent weeks, the Yong'an County veterinary station promptly suspected bird flu might be the cause at Huang's farm. They in turn advised local quarantine staff to cull all the remaining 1,225 ducks in Huang's neighbourhood that night, according to Gan. Four days later, test results from a national lab decided that Dingdang's outbreak was indeed a bird flu infection. In the days since then, the number of birds culled within 3 kilometres of the spot has risen to 13,596. In addition to conducting free compulsory vaccination on poultry and closing live fowl markets in areas ranging between 5 and 10 kilometres from the epidemic spot, the local government has compensated Dingdang farmers by 129,630 yuan (US$15,618) for slaughtering their poultry to help block the spread of the disease. Doctors had also monitored the health conditions of Huang and another 31 people in the farming area to make sure they are not suffering from any flu symptoms. To date, Dingdang, as well as the whole Guangxi region, has not detected a single human case of avian flu, Gan said. "With the (compensation) money, I'll raise poultry again at a time when the government decides it is appropriate," Huang said. Lu Suhai, another farmer in Dingdang Town, who raised chicken in his backyard, said the only loss he has incurred from the epidemic is the absence of fowl delicacies at mealtime. Otherwise, life is as normal as before, although farmers are more aware of the dangers that possible infection can cause, Lu said. Lu's home is within the 3-kilometre radius from the epidemic spot. As stipulated by China's animal epidemic prevention law, all his 60 chickens were killed on January 23. Not far away from Lu's residence, the streets have remained as bustling and busy as before, local vendors have said. Drivers slow down at checkpoints to allow officers to douse the wheels and undersides of vehicles with long spray nozzles, and check the vehicles for possible banned poultry and poultry products. Apart from that, life goes on in Dingdang Town. |
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