12. How do the rates of Avian Flu compare to HBV in China?

Now there is a lot of talk about Avian flu. Now Avian flu has killed millions of birds in China but up to last week, this week actually, there have been only twelve reported deaths from Avian flu in China. And what is China planning to do? China is planning to vaccinate every bird against Avian flu. So when I did these talks in China, I said isn’t more important to vaccinate every person against hepatitis B because China only started vaccinating newborns three years ago and if you are not a newborn, it is not free. So with our advocacy this year, China decided to vaccinate up to three years of age. But there are 380 million Chinese children who are eighteen and under. So if you just vaccinate up to three years, it would take forever to eradicate this disease in China which kills half-a-million people every year.