December 1, 2005

China's Hubei lifts bird flu quarantine

China's Hubei province has lifted the quarantine on a poultry farm and Qibaoshan village in Jingshan county. Both areas reported bird flu outbreaks in early November. But recent tests on blood samples of poultry within 10 kilometres outside both areas showed the birds have been satisfactorily immunised, local authorities said.

Both areas reported no new bird flu cases in the last 21 days, which was the longest incubation period for the H5N1 bird flu virus.

Nine live poultry markets were also allowed to reopen after the quarantine was lifted.

However, a local official said that veterinarians would continue to monitor both areas.