 | ■ International
Bird flu precautions
防範禽流感
British, Dutch slaughter poultry to fight bird flu
英國與荷蘭撲殺家禽，以對抗禽流感 |
| Chickens were being slaughtered in the Netherlands and Britain was preparing to kill ducks after two cases of bird flu were discovered in Europe — but Dutch officials insisted on Nov. 17 that the risk to public health was very low. | 在歐洲地區發現兩起禽流感案例後，荷蘭當局開始動手撲殺雞隻，而英國政府正準備要宰殺鴨隻，不過荷蘭官員在十一月十七日堅稱，這兩起案例對民眾健康所構成的威脅非常低。 |
| The Dutch government banned the transport of poultry and eggs throughout the Netherlands on Nov. 16 after confirming the H5N8 strain of bird flu at a chicken farm. All 150,000 chickens at the farm in Hekendorp, 65 kilometers south of Amsterdam, were being slaughtered and 16 other nearby farms were being checked. It was not clear how the farm became infected. As well as halting the movement of poultry, other birds and eggs nationwide for 72 hours, the government is imposing other restrictions, including banning the transport of byproducts such as poultry manure and hay that have been used on poultry farms. | 在一座養雞場證實發現了 H5N8 禽流感病毒株之後，荷蘭政府於十一月十六日下令禁止將家禽肉和蛋運送至該國各地。在阿姆斯特丹以南六十五公里赫肯多普村的一處養殖場，有十五萬隻雞全數遭到撲殺，而鄰近的十六座養殖場則在進行檢查。這座養殖場如何出現感染案例尚不明朗。除了荷蘭各地暫停運送家禽肉、其他家禽與蛋七十二小時之外，該國政府也發布了包括禁止運送家禽糞肥，以及養禽場曾使用過的稻草等附屬品等 其他禁令。 |
| The Dutch Ministry for Economic Affairs said the outbreak is deadly to poultry and can also be transmitted to humans. "There is a small risk that it can be transmitted from animals to humans but there has to be intensive contact. Those at risk are really only the farmer, his family and the workers slaughtering the animals. They are being monitored by health authorities," said Harald Wychgel, a spokesman for the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. | 荷蘭經濟部表示，這場疫情對家禽十分致命，而且也可能傳染給人類。荷蘭國家公共衛生和環境研究所的發言人哈拉德維徹格爾表示：「動物將病毒傳染給人類的機率很低，而且兩者必須頻繁接觸才行。所以真正受到威脅的只有雞農、他的家屬，以及負責撲殺雞隻的工作人員，而他們正 受到衛生單位的嚴密監控。」 |
| British authorities also confirmed a case of bird flu on Nov. 16 at a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire in Northern England. British officials said they were investigating a case of the H5 bird flu virus in Northern England, but noted it's not the more dangerous H5N1 strain and that the risk to public health was very low and there was no risk to the food chain. They said all 6,000 ducks at a breeding farm in the Driffield area of East Yorkshire will be killed and a restriction zone was being set up to prevent further spread of the infection. Tests were also being carried out at nearby farms. | 十一月十六日，英國官員也在英格蘭北部約克郡一處養鴨場證實一起禽流感案例。英國官員表示，他們正在調查英格蘭北部出現的一宗H5型禽流感病毒案例，不過他們指出，這型病毒並非較危險的H5N1病毒株， 它對民眾健康的風險非常低，且對食物供應並不構成威脅。他們表示，東約克郡德里菲爾德地區一處養鴨場的六千隻鴨子將會全數撲殺，並設置一個管制區，以防止感染情形進一步擴大。附近的養殖場也正在進行篩檢。 |
| The UK government food agency said there is no risk to the food chain and British Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens told the BBC that the risk of the disease spreading is probably quite low. It was the first bird flu outbreak in Britain in six years, officials said. A government spokeswoman said Britain has a "strong track record of controlling and eliminating previous outbreaks of avian flu in the UK." | 英國政府主管食品的機構指出，食物供應目前並未受到威脅，而且英國首席獸醫官吉本斯向英國廣播公司表示，這種疾病蔓延的可能性應該相當低。英國官員則表示，這是該國六年來首次爆發禽流感疫情。一位女性政府發言人表示，英國在「控制並消滅該國先前所爆發的禽流感疫情方面的紀錄非常良好。」 |
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