NEWS: Counterfeit Vaccines Frustrate Chinese Attempts to Rein in Bird Flu, page 1

The spread of the highly-pathogenic variant of H5N1 is characterized as "rampant" and "out of control" in several Chinese provinces. Part of the problem could be a black market which supplies counterfeit medicines. Flocks are not receiving proper vaccination, leading to further spread of outbreaks.

www.newscientist.com
Counterfeit vaccines
A Chinese agriculture minister has warned that the country faces a “disaster” due to the use of sub-standard – and counterfeit – poultry vaccines. These can mask symptoms of the virus, making control difficult, or even introduce the virus.

Tests on four people suspected to have contracted bird flu are still being carried out, one in Liaoning and three in Hunan province. But the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reports that 121 people from the area in Liaoning who had suspicious symptoms have now been declared not to have the disease by the local health ministry.

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Hopefully, China can get this under control. It seems that the lax attitude toward everything from software piracy to counterfeit drugs may come back to haunt China in this instance. I mostly feel sorry for the poor villagers who fall prey to the counterfeiters. They are left with a false sense of security.

Related News Links:
www.manilatimes.net
www.rfa.org

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