May 25, 2006

China says more H5N1 bird flu found in remote Tibetan region

An outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in migratory birds in a remote area of western China, the government said Wednesday (May 24).

The case occurred in an isolated area of Tibet and neighbouring Qinghai province on a same migration route where other wild birds died in an outbreak in late April, the Agriculture Ministry said.

A total of 399 birds have been found dead in the two outbreaks in an isolated area high on the Tibetan plateau, which has few people and no domestic poultry living there, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.

The earlier outbreak affected mostly bar-headed geese. The government did not say what type of birds were involved in the latest case.