Animal flu lab gets UN links
Source: Xinhua |
March 5, 2013, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations yesterday designated an animal influenza lab in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province as a reference center for animal influenza.
The Animal Influenza Laboratory, affiliated to the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is in the provincial capital of Harbin.
The center is the first FAO-recognized reference center in China and the second in the world after the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, which is operated by the Friedrich Loeffer Institute of Germany.
The institute will share information and jointly carry out animal influenza vigilance, prevention and control programs with the FAO.
It also will provide data on epidemiology and influenza virus evolution in Asia and offer consultation on vaccines and immunity, Dr Juan Luborth, chief veterinary officer of the FAO, said at a designation ceremony held yesterday.
"The world still faces new risks for avian influenza, as the H5N1 bird flu virus still plagues many Asian and Middle Eastern countries. If we fail to take action, the virus could cause a global pandemic worse than that seen in 2006," he said.
According to statistics released by the FAO, more than 400 million poultry died or were slaughtered after contracting avian influenza from 2003 to 2011, causing economic losses of US$20 billion.
More than 500 people contracted the H5N1 virus from 2003 to 2011 and 300 of them were killed by the virus.
The Animal Influenza Laboratory, affiliated to the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is in the provincial capital of Harbin.
The center is the first FAO-recognized reference center in China and the second in the world after the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, which is operated by the Friedrich Loeffer Institute of Germany.
The institute will share information and jointly carry out animal influenza vigilance, prevention and control programs with the FAO.
It also will provide data on epidemiology and influenza virus evolution in Asia and offer consultation on vaccines and immunity, Dr Juan Luborth, chief veterinary officer of the FAO, said at a designation ceremony held yesterday.
"The world still faces new risks for avian influenza, as the H5N1 bird flu virus still plagues many Asian and Middle Eastern countries. If we fail to take action, the virus could cause a global pandemic worse than that seen in 2006," he said.
According to statistics released by the FAO, more than 400 million poultry died or were slaughtered after contracting avian influenza from 2003 to 2011, causing economic losses of US$20 billion.
More than 500 people contracted the H5N1 virus from 2003 to 2011 and 300 of them were killed by the virus.
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