February 2, 2004

China Reports Five New Suspected Bird Flu Cases

China has reported five more suspected cases of bird flu in poultry, including one in its remote northwest - underlining the broad range of the disease in this vast country.

The newest cases, reported by the government late Sunday, are in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang; the eastern province of Zhejiang, just south of Shanghai; the southern province of Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, and the central province of Henan, a key farming region.

The fifth new suspected case was in Hubei province, which also has a previously confirmed outbreak.

With the new report, China now has three confirmed cases and eight suspected cases in a total of 10 regions spanning the country.

Most striking among the new suspected cases was the one in Xinjiang, since it is more than 2,000 kilometers from the southern region of Guangxi, where China's first case of bird flu was confirmed last week.

China has no reported cases of bird flu in humans, the official Xinhua News Agency said in its report.