China will take further actions to prevent bird flu from spreading via vehicles and vessels, said Vice Minister of Communications Feng Zhenglin on Friday in Beijing.

By Friday, the local branches of the ministry in bird flu-hit areas have sent 10,645 people to participate in the work of 319 quarantine inspection stations and disinfection centers, Feng said.

A total of 160,175 vehicles in and out of these areas have been disinfected, with 25,000 tons of fowls and products stopped from being moved out of these areas. A total of 765 tons of materials for epidemic prevention were transported.

Millions of chickens, ducks, geese and other poultry have been culled after bird flu outbreaks were reported in Xinjiang, Liaoning, Hubei, Anhui, Shanxi and Hunan provinces, and Inner Mongolia.

The country is facing a "severe situation" in bird flu prevention and control, said the vice minister, who required local transportation departments to enhance monitoring in key areas.

Meanwhile, the regular circulation of those qualified and licensed fowls should be guaranteed to meet the consumer demand, he said.

Source: Xinhua