Expert Claim Bird Flu has Killed 300 in China
A respected Japanese scientist, who works with the World Health Organization, says 300 people have died of H5N1 bird flu in China, including seven cases caused by human-to-human transmission.
Masato Tashiro, head of virology at Tokyo’s National Institute of Infectious Disease – a WHO-collaborating centre for bird flu, says he was given the information in confidence by Chinese colleagues who have been threatened with arrest if they disclosed the extent of the problem.
He told in a meeting, called to mark the retirement of a senior German virologist, that there have been “several dozen” outbreaks in people, 300 confirmed deaths and 3000 people placed in isolation with suspected cases. He said five Chinese medical personnel had been arrested for trying to report these cases.
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