Pathogenic bird flu reported in central, northwest China
(Kyodo)
Updated: 2005-11-18 01:12

Highly pathogenic bird flu outbreaks have been found in villages near Xiaogan of central China's Hubei Province and Hetian of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.

Citing the Ministry of Agriculture, the report said that 662 fowls raised by farmers in Jinggang village and Tianjing village near Xiaogan City died from Nov. 5 to 11. On Nov. 10, 32 fowls died in a slaughterhouse and a village around Hetian City, it said.

On Wednesday, China's national bird flu lab diagnosed that both cases were caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of virus, the report said.

The ministry quickly sent expert panels to the two regions and enhanced blockage, slaughtering and disposal, the report said.

Before these two cases, bird flu epidemic had been found in another two counties of Urumqi and Zepu in Xinjiang, and in Hubei's Jingshan County, but no human infections have been reported there, the report said.