BEIJING, Jan 25 (AFP) - China has told local governments across the country to step up measures to prevent an outbreak of bird flu, state media said Tuesday.
Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin told a seminar in Beijing that China faces a "severe" situation in prevention and control of avian flu, said Xinhua news agency.
Bird flu has killed 29 people in neighbouring Vietnam since the end of 2003, nine of them since December.
In Thailand, which is close to southern China, 12 people died last year and the country has gone on high alert after more outbreaks were reported this month.
Du urged local authorities to strengthen efforts to vaccinate poultry on farms and to tighten supervision of poultry markets. Authorities must also educate farmers in preventing the disease.
More than 120 million birds were killed or culled in two huge outbreaks throughout Asia last year of avian flu.
01/25/2005 11:41 GMT - AFP