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China uses cards to teach bird flu prevention
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-01-09 06:55
China is using playing cards to teach people how to protect themselves from
the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, as the world's biggest poultry producer finds
novel ways to spread awareness.
A rooster crows in rural Nanzhuang village,
November 2005, on the outskirts of Anqing in central China's Anhui
province. [AFP] | The cards will be illustrated
with cartoons informing players what bird flu is, the dangers of the epidemic,
how the disease is transmitted as well as prevention and control measures, the
Xinhua news agency said.
The cards are being sold in the northern province of Shanxi.
The addresses and telephone numbers of the disease prevention and control
organizations across China are also printed on the cards, which were developed
by a hospital in Shanxi's Yuncheng city, said Xinhua.
Cards have been used in China to teach people about AIDS and to catch
criminals. Pictures of fugitives have been printed on some cards.
They are seen as especially handy for informing China's large floating
population of more than 140 million migrant workers, many of whom are frequently
travelling or too busy to read and watch TV.
Playing cards is a popular pastime for many Chinese, especially on trains.
China has confirmed seven human cases of bird flu since late last year,
including three fatalities, and reported more than 30 outbreaks among poultry in
several provinces since early 2005.
General knowledge about bird flu however may still be weak, especially in the
vast countryside.
No details were given on what information the cards provide.
The World Health Organization advises people not to eat birds from diseased
flocks, not to eat raw poultry parts, including raw eggs, and to cook poultry
meat at 70 degrees Celsius or higher.
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