Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday that WHO's China office urged China to guard against possible human infection and to share information and virus samples with other countries.

WHO spokesperson Roy Wadia said it is difficult and even impossible to find out how many people might get infected in many Asian countries as a lot of farmers live side by side with their livestock. The report did not say when he was speaking.

He said the fact that no human infection cases have been reported doesn't mean there are no such cases.

Praising China for the huge resources it has put into its anti-bird flu campaign, he said it was "just a start," calling on China to stay vigilant against human infection.

China has experienced bird flu outbreaks in Anhui, Hunan and Liaoning provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in recent weeks that have killed thousands of birds, but only reported three suspected human cases in Hunan, currently diagnosed as "pneumonia of an unknown cause."

The possibility of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza has not been ruled out as all three had close contact with dead poultry. A 12-year-old girl, one of the three, died on October 17.

Vietnam has suffered over 40 of the 62 known human bird flu deaths in Asia since 2003.

Southeast and East Asia have large populations whose livestock stay in backyard farms or homes.

Facing the WHO's warning of a possible human pandemic, China has toughened measures to fight the highly pathogenic virus. The State Council has launched a national command center for the prevention and control of bird flu and earmarked US$250 million to fund the battle.

Beijing also has announced to shut down all live poultry markets and Shanghai banned sales of live ducks, quail and other birds.

Health experts fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, unleashing a pandemic that could kill millions.

A meeting of hundreds of international experts that opened on Monday in Geneva warned that a global human flu pandemic could cost the global economy at least US$800 billion.

To win the fight, Wadia said the WHO thinks it is vital for countries with outbreaks to share information and samples of the most current virus strains to create effective vaccines.

"If countries don't share, vaccines may not be complete. It will be impossible to protect humans without all virus strain combinations."

He urged China to share virus samples of recent outbreaks with the international community.

A group of WHO experts is expected to come to China at the invitation of the government to investigate the Hunan cases this week. A dialogue is underway between China and the WHO to determine what the assistance should be.

The WHO official said China's agricultural ministry should improve its bird flu policy.

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2005)