National Laboratories of China
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China's National Anti-Doping Agency laboratory suspended by Wada
China's National Anti-Doping Agency laboratory has been suspended for up to four months by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Wada said the laboratory must take five remedial steps after it was found to have submitted two false negative results during blind tests in October. If it meets Wada's demands, the ban can be lifted early. The laboratory has 21 days to appeal against the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. During the suspension, samples must be transported securely to another Wada-accredited laboratory. Read: Social media users call ban Embarrassing" Wada, which is seeking to improve standards following a series of recent doping scandals, last week revoked accreditation from the national laboratories in Moscow and Lisbon. Russia's athletics federation is currently from international competition after being accused of "state-sponsored" doping.
China bird flu case fuels fears
A dead wild goose in north-west China has tested positive for bird flu, raising new fears about transmission along migration routes. China's national bird flu laboratory confirmed over the weekend that the goose had tested positive for H5N1, the official news agency Xinhua said. The bird was found in Qinghai province, a known migratory transit point. A series of bird flu outbreaks occurred in the area in mid-2005, killing more than 1,000 birds. Researchers believe that wild birds from the region may have carried the virus into other countries. According to the World Health Organization, the strain of bird flu found in two people in Turkey was virtually identical to the versions isolated in Qinghai last year. Since diagnosing the virus over the weekend, the authorities in Qinghai have disinfected the area and set up strict quarantine measures. Pandemic fears Last week, China reported its 18th human case of human bird flu. QUICK GUIDE Bird flu The infected girl, in the south-western province of Sichuan province, is being treated in hospital. In all, 12 Chinese people have died from the disease since the latest outbreak began there late last year. The H5N1 virus has killed more than 100 people worldwide since 2003. It has also devastated poultry stocks. The majority of deaths have occurred in Asia, but cases in people and birds have also been recorded in Europe and Africa. Almost all human infections so far are thought to have been caused by direct contact with sick poultry. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between humans, possibly sparking a pandemic.
Fresh bird flu outbreak in China
China has announced a fresh outbreak of bird flu, saying 2,600 birds have died from the disease in Inner Mongolia. The deaths, at a farm near the region's capital of Hohhot, were due to the H5N1 strain, which is potentially lethal to humans, the Xinhua news agency said. China has previously suffered outbreaks of bird flu in Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Tibet, all this year. Thousands of affected fowl have been slaughtered. Bird flu has killed at least 60 people in Asia since December 2003. Xinhua said the latest outbreak, in Tengjiaying village near Hohhot, was now under control, though it did not say when it had taken place. H5N1 BIRD FLU VIRUS Principally an avian disease, first seen in humans in Hong Kong, 1997 Almost all human cases thought to be contracted from birds Isolated cases of human-to-human transmission in Hong Kong and Vietnam, but none confirmed Q&A: Avian flu China's national bird flu laboratory confirmed it was the H5N1 strain, Xinhua said. No human victims were mentioned in the report - China's bird flu outbreaks have so far only affected its fowl. Its most recent previous confirmed case was near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in August, in which 133 birds died and another 2,475 were slaughtered. A local official told the AFP news agency that the latest outbreak had been detected at a small farm with fewer than 10,000 birds, mainly chickens, geese and peacocks. News of the outbreak comes as European officials deal with outbreaks in Romania and Turkey. The UN's Food and Agriculture Agency has also warned of a risk the disease will now reach the Middle East and Africa as a result of the European outbreaks. Scientists fear the H5N1 strain could combine with human flu or mutate into a form that it easily transmissible between humans, triggering a flu pandemic.
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Examples
1 China's national avian flu reference laboratory says its latest case is an example of the H5N1 strain.
2 Xinhua said China's national bird flu reference laboratory confirmed the Guangxi duck deaths were caused by the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.
3 An official at the China National Avian Flu Reference Laboratory said the H5N1 virus strain had been found in pigs at several farms in the country.