Mar 4, 2013
Taiwan offers H5N1 vaccination to those at high risk
Taiwan is offering publicly funded H5N1 flu vaccine for adults at high risk of contracting the disease, the China Post reported yesterday. Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control said members of the coast guard, disease control professionals, airport security agents, and people traveling to epidemic areas are eligible to receive the vaccine through Aug 31, according to the story. The agency's deputy director-general Chou Chih-hau said that people can visit designated public health centers or hospitals to receive the vaccine but that pregnant women should not be vaccinated. China has confirmed two H5N1 cases this year on its mainland, both fatal.
Mar 3 China Post story
FAO designates China lab an animal flu reference center
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today designated an animal influenza lab in northeastern China as one of its animal influenza reference centers, according to Xinhua, China's state news agency. The Animal Influenza Laboratory (AIL) is part of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in Harbin, the capital of Heillongjiang province. The AIL is China's first FAO reference center. Juan Lubroth, DVM, PhD, chief veterinary officer for the FAO, said the lab will share information and conduct joint projects with the FAO on animal influenza surveillance, prevention, control, epidemiology, and genetic analysis. Yu Kangzheng, China's chief veterinary officer, told Xinhua that establishing the new reference lab will expand cooperation between the FAO and China and will strengthen cross-border disease control efforts among a host of countries.
Mar 4 Xinhua story
