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BEIJING (AP) - China is preparing to send virus samples from recent human bird flu cases to the World Health Organization after the agency said this week that it had not received any for over a year, state media reported Friday.
The WHO does not mandate virus samples but needs them to produce diagnostic tools and vaccines. Lack of cooperation, experts say, can slow efforts to track diseases and develop vaccines and other flu-fighting strategies.
International health experts have complained in the past about Chinese foot-dragging in cooperating with investigations of emerging diseases like bird flu and SARS.
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