April 20, 2012

China reports outbreak of H5N1

China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has announced an outbreak of the highly epidemic H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry within the Northwestern Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

A total of 95,000 chickens have been culled after the H5N1 bird flu case was confirmed.

A quarantine team is now in a village of Touying town in the city of Guyuan in Ningxia Hui autonomous region to guide poultry farmers on how to prevent another epidemic, according to the ministry.

The outbreak was discovered as 23,000 chickens at several farms in the village exhibited symptoms of the avian influenza. The National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory then tested the chickens and confirmed the outbreak.

This year, two people have already died from H5N1 infection, health authorities said. One fatality was a man from the southwestern Guizhou province. He died in January. China is particularly vulnerable to bird flu outbreaks as it has the largest poultry population in the world and the proximity of the birds to humans.