November 16, 2005

China reports new bird flu outbreak in Xinjiang

China's Agriculture Ministry has confirmed two new bird flu outbreaks in the country's far western Xinjiang region.

1,347 domestic birds in Zepu county, southern Xinjiang, have died during the outbreak, and dead poultry were also found 1,500 km (950 miles) to the north-east near Urumqi, the regional capital, the agriculture ministry said.

China's National Avian Flu Reference Laboratory recently confirmed that both outbreaks were caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Official experts visited Xinjiang to investigate both outbreaks, and a total of 322,500 domestic poultry were reportedly culled in both areas.

China has already sought to vaccinate all its poultry nationwide, in a bid to control the recent outbreaks.