China will join the WHO to verify the H5N1 sample

Healthy ducklings are on sale in Jiangxi China on April 18.(Photo: Reuters)

The Chinese Ministry of Health said it was preparing to send the H5N1 virus sample to the World Health Organization (WHO) to test the virus's process and find a new vaccine to prevent the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that, for a long time, the Chinese often avoided sending H5N1 samples to them because of the rumor that Guangdong province, the southern region of China was the source of H5N1 virus. However, the Chinese Ministry of Health has just announced that it will "send two samples of the most recent H5N1 virus and a sample of the patient's virus from 2003 to WHO for testing as soon as possible."

Joanna Brent, a WHO spokesman in Beijing, said the last time China sent the H5N1 sample to WHO was April 2006. Since then, there have been 5 more Chinese people infected with bird flu.

China's Ministry of Health said it would closely examine the packaging process and deliver the virus, 'ensuring absolute safety during transportation'.

Since the outbreak of the disease so far, nearly 300 people have been infected with H5N1 worldwide, more than half of them died.

Thu Hien