January 28, 2008

China lifts bird flu alerts in Xinjiang province

China has lifted Sunday its bird flu quarantine in the northwest province of Xinjiang after no new outbreaks were reported.

The lifting of the quarantine, according to Xinhua News Agency, came 21 days after some 35,000 birds were slaughtered to prevent the virus from spreading.

Farms in Xinjiang have been disinfected, and workers who came into contact with sick birds showed no sign of infection, the agency said.

China has drafted aggressive measures to constantly counter or eradicate bird flu, which has so far killed 221 people worldwide.