Rural Chinese Catholics maintain vigilance as bird flu spreads

Published: 2004-02-09

HONG KONG (CNS) -- Rural Chinese Catholics maintained vigilance as the deadly bird flu continued to spread across Asia. Some Chinese have sought vaccine injections for their poultry, while an elderly bishop thinks traditional Chinese herbal medicine could hold a cure, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. In Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region, where China's first bird flu case was confirmed, Father Joseph Meng Weicai of Nanning said the outbreak was in a county northwest of Nanning, but his parish in Guigang, more than 80 miles away, had not yet been affected. Some farmers living nearby have had their poultry vaccinated, Father Meng said. Guangxi borders Vietnam, where the bird flu had killed 19 people by Feb. 9. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an outbreak of avian influenza, more commonly called bird flu, is affecting bird populations in countries all over Asia. Within China, outbreaks of the bird flu have been reported in 34 locations in 13 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

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