March 17, 2004

China Culled Nine Million Poultry In Bird Flu Fight
 

China culled a total of nine million poultry in the 49 affected regions during the fight against bird flu.

"China reported 49 bird flu cases and killed nine million poultry in the infected areas since the first one was confirmed in Dingdang town, in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region, on January 27," spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), Jia Youling, said.

Jia, who announced "Thanks to compulsory vaccination measures in areas near the infected regions, the bird flu epidemic had been brought under control in China," Jia said.

MOA announced this morning the ending of isolation in the last two bird flu-hit areas, in Nanning of Guangxi and Lhasa of Tibet Autonomous Region.