'Grave' China Bird Flu Situation

(CBS/AP)  China and Thailand on Friday ruled out bird flu in several human illnesses but the region's anxiety mounted as officials called for measures to prevent an outbreak that they warned could infect millions of people.

"The situation right now is extremely grave," said Jia Youling, China's chief veterinary officer. He warned that it was only a matter of time before his country has a human infection if it fails to stop more outbreaks among its vast poultry flocks.

Chinese authorities said tests confirmed that a 12-year-old girl who died in a village with an outbreak didn't have the virus. And Thai health officials said three French tourists who were suspected of contracting bird flu were found not to have the disease.

The virus has killed at least 62 people across Asia since late 2003.

Most of the people infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu have had contact with sick birds. Health experts fear that if it mutates into a form that is easily transmissible between people, it could spark a pandemic, possibly killing millions.

In related developments:

A second manufacturer is beginning mass production of a vaccine to protect against bird flu, and the Senate moved Thursday to invest far more, $8 billion, on preparations in case the influenza strain ever sparks a worldwide epidemic. Before the Senate acted, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt awarded a $62.5 million contract to Emeryville, Calif.-based Chiron Corp. to manufacture bird flu vaccine for a national stockpile. A competitor, Sanofi-Aventis of Paris, began manufacturing $100 million worth of a similar vaccine last month.

In Indonesia, authorities were testing chickens that died last week on Bali. Indonesian Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono warned that the virus could spread quickly through the densely populated archipelago since wild pigeons and other birds already were infected. "The condition (of bird flu) is critical because it has been found to have infected pigeons," he said. "We can all imagine how long and how far pigeons can fly." Bird flu has killed four people and sickened three others in Indonesia so far this year.

France's Health Ministry said it could not confirm the Thai statement, but tests in France made public Thursday showed that one of the tourists was free of bird flu.

Australia's health minister warned that his nation might have to close its borders in the event of a human epidemic, while a Hong Kong lawmaker suggested arming the public to shoot migratory birds. Health Minister Tony Abbott said the island continent of 20 million people would shut itself off from the rest of the world if a human flu pandemic breaks out. "The best way of ensuring that you don't get infected with something like this, in the absence of an effective vaccine, would be isolation," Abbott told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

In Hong Kong, lawmaker Tommy Cheung proposed allowing the public to carry guns and shoot migratory birds suspected of carrying the virus. "Perhaps what we should do is give each person a gun," said Cheung, who has a reputation for making unusual proposals, "and when we see a migrating bird, we can just shoot it down, so Hong Kong would be a much safer place."

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