Special report: Global fight against bird flu

BANGKOK, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to share information and experience with the international community on animal disease surveillance and control regarding either bird flu or the blue ear pig disease, an official of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

FAO animal health expert Vincent Martin said in an interview with Xinhua on Friday that he did not agree with some Western media reports, which suggested the Chinese government was reluctant to report PRRS outbreaks and unwilling to share information on the disease, found so far in China and Vietnam, with the international community.

Martin is here to attend a two-day FAO emergency workshop opening Monday on the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), more commonly known as the blue ear pig disease.

Martin, now based in Beijing as an FAO technological coordinator, said the FAO is "very satisfied" with all the collaboration that the Chinese government has provided on disease control.

He said that from the very beginning in the summer of 2006 when China first detected in some provinces an outbreak of PRRS, the World Organization for Animal Health and the FAO has been kept informed by the Chinese government on the progress of the disease.

In 2007, Chinese scientists found it was a mutated, highly pathogenic form of the PRRS virus that had infected the pigs, and China submitted a timely report of the finding to the OIE and the FAO, Martin said.

"The Chinese government is doing their best," he said.

Martin and his colleagues in Beijing had earlier in the month visited Sichuan province and the nearby city of Chongqing in western China, which were among the most infected areas.

"From what I've seen there, the epidemic seemed to be receding across the country, and the situation is much better now," he said.

The FAO has recommended the Chinese government organize an regional or international experts mission by the end of the year to inspect all infected regions in China to have a more thorough evaluation of the situation and a workshop on national or regional-level be held to work out further strategies to combat the disease.

China has welcomed these recommendations, saying that it is ready to invite international experts for any further inspection or discussion on the issue, according to Martin.

Another recommendation suggests China send virus tissue samples to international laboratories for analysis. An agreement on the issue is being worked on between the Chinese government and the FAO, Martin said.

The agreement was needed to address in which circumstances and in what way the samples could be used and to define related property rights issues.

A recent report by The Washington Post suggested the agreement shows China is reluctant to share data on the virus out of concerns about commercial benefits.

"Personally, I don't support such theories. I never felt that (China's reluctance to share information with the international community)," said Martin.

"It is totally normal practice. When you talk about sharing of virus or anything, you need to sign an agreement or contract to define the receptive and sender countries and ownership issues," Martin said.

"My own experience in China shows that China is very very willing to share knowledge, information and experience in control and surveillance of disease," he said.

The Bangkok workshop will gather veterinary officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to discuss the current situation of the PRRS in the region and draft an emergency and preparedness plan for the disease.

So far, "The disease remains an animal disease. It does not infect humans. We've seen many animal disease," said Martin. "We need to be serious with it because there could be possible economic consequences."

"We're concerned for the farmers, who are losing their income. That's what FAO and China are now collaborating to do ...We want to avoid these losses," he added.