Slaughter of ducks on hold

Beijing - China yesterday dismissed reports suggesting it had denied visas to World Health Organisation (WHO) officials to prevent…

Beijing - China yesterday dismissed reports suggesting it had denied visas to World Health Organisation (WHO) officials to prevent them from investigating the source of Hong Kong's deadly "bird flu" on the mainland.

A team of 14 flu experts, epidemiologists and virologists from the WHO's Geneva headquarters and from the US-based Centres for Disease Control is scheduled to conduct studies in China today until January 23rd.

A panic caused by four human deaths from the disease led to the precautionary slaughter of all Hong Kong's 1.5 million chickens as well as a ban on imports of chickens from the mainland, where some believe the virus originated. It has been announced that a mass killing of ducks, which were also suspected of carrying the disease, will not go ahead.