The UN system is expecting China to make greater contribution to the global fight against bird flu with its experience and knowledge, said a chief UN official in Beijing Tuesday.

China has contributed to the international effort against bird flu by achieving great progress in preventing and controlling the disease in the country, said David Nabarro, UN System Coordinator for Influenza,

The Chinese government attaches great importance to the prevention and control of bird flu and has adopted national strategies and taken a series of measures in fighting bird flu, Nabarro said at a press conference.

Nabarro is visiting China and attending the APEC Symposium on Emerging Infectious Diseases held in Beijing.

Earlier Tuesday, Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu met with Nabarro. The two discussed China's role in the global fight against bird flu and the ways to strengthen China's participation in regional and international technical cooperation, according to Nabarro.

The knowledge and experience that China has gained from fighting bird flu may help the world, he said, hoping that Chinese officials would communicate with colleagues from governments who are "just beginning to struggle" against the disease.

Henk Bekedam, the World Health Organization's representative in China, also noted that information sharing should be made available for all countries. "We hope China can share more information and samples of bird flu timely, regularly and globally," he said.

During the last three months, there has been an enormous and rapid spread of H5N1. Thirty countries have reported infections in birds, Nabarro told the press conference.

China has reported 16 human cases of bird flu including 11 deaths. There have been 34 outbreaks of bird flu among poultry since last year. Its poultry population accounts for 20 percent of the global total.

The Chinese government has vowed to vaccinate all of its 14 billion poultry and has done 90 percent so far, according to Guo Fusheng, avian influenza consultant of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in China.

China has agreed to share virus samples from poultry outbreaks with the WHO. An official with the organization named Julie Hall said the shipping process and logistics were being worked out and hopefully they would be provided within days.

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2006)