outbreak in china

New bird flu outbreak in China
Last Updated Tue, 21 Jun 2005
China has reported a new outbreak of deadly bird flu.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) says the latest outbreak has infected 128 geese and ducks in the northwestern Xinjiang region, killing 63 of them.

It is the third outbreak reported by the Chinese government within two months.

The UN FAO representative in China, Noureddin Mona, says authorities have culled 1,490 birds, including the infected geese and ducks, and those raised in nearby farms. "The Ministry of Agriculture said it's under control," Mona said. "No human cases were reported."

Earlier this month, 1,042 geese were infected with H5N1 at a farm in Tacheng city in northwestern Xinjiang, with 460 of them dying, according to state media.

Authorities ordered all poultry markets in Tacheng to close down and 17,014 birds, mostly chickens and geese, were killed to prevent the disease from spreading.

The outbreak followed the deaths from H5N1 of more than 1,000 migratory birds last month in Qinghai province, which borders Xinjiang, the first confirmed outbreak in China in nearly a year.