System in place to deal with public health emergencies

After their experience fighting SARS last year, Chinese people are more prepared to cope with public health emergencies.

"Fight against bird flu with the spirit of the SARS battle," reads a slogan hung in a poultry farm in Hubei Province.

Other protective measures include bathing in ultraviolet radiation for 15 minutes and wearing special suits before entering poultry farms. Roads leading to poultry farms are covered with lime powder and entrances to villages near epidemic sites are guarded.

If not for SARS, people could overlook the dangers of bird flu and refuse to kill their egg-laying chickens, said Liang Xunyin, a grassroots public health worker in Yangxin County of the province.

"I was frightened to see my chickens die suddenly with swollen chests, swollen eyelids, watering eyes and beaks," said Chen Lianfu, 40, owner of a farm in Zhanglingshang Village of Wuxue City in Hubei, "I reported it to the municipal farming bureau immediately when connecting it with bird flu mentioned on TV."

It was identified as the first H5N1 bird flu case in the central China province on January 30 by the State Bird Flu Reference Laboratory.

As a result, poultry within 3 kilometers of the site have was culled, poultry within 5 kilometers was vaccinated and trade of poultry and eggs was forbidden within 10 kilometers.

Millions of rural households keep a small amount of hens or ducks to supplement their diets with protein-rich eggs and meat.

Zhang Baodi had 10 hens culled after a suspected outbreak was spotted nearby. "Human life is more important," said the 47-year-old illiterate housewife. She received 15 yuan (US$1.8) from the government for each hen.

Obvious panic is rather rare in the epidemic sites.

"Doctors take my family's temperatures every four hours. We are in good condition," said Zhou Lifa, 49, whose ducks died of H5N1 in Shengli Village of Yangxin County,

Quarantine workers disinfect the village five times a day.

Governments at various levels have been reacting efficiently to the epidemic.

The State Council required the bird flu outbreaks to be publicized quickly and reasonable compensation provided to farmers.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the importance of stepping up infrastructure construction for poultry quarantine and emergency systems for animal epidemics at a State Council meeting.

Local governments have opened emergency headquarters to deal with the epidemic with procedures similar to those used during the SARS crisis.

Since human patients of bird flu will show symptoms similar to a bad cold, "barefoot doctors" (a nickname for peasants who have received short-term medical training and serve as public health workers in villages) are required to monitor the temperatures of residents.

Grassroots public health workers believed the outbreak of SARS helped improve rural China's public health system. Now they believe the outbreak of bird flu will help improve rural China's animal quarantine system.