June 1, 2017

A private poultry farm in Shaanxi province in northwest China has been closed after being hit by an outbreak of H7N9 bird flu, which killed more than 20,000 chickens.

The local government of Yuyang district in Yulin City, which is part of Shaanxi, said in a statement that a 3-kilometre radius area was to be closed for disinfection from May 30 to June 19. The farm, owned by Yuyang Lyuxiangyuan Eco Co. Ltd., is in Niujialiang township.

Chickens started dying on May 25, the statement said, according to a report by the state-owned news agency Xinhua.

All poultry within the 3-km radius area were to be culled and all poultry trading suspended, the statement also said.

The H7N9 bird flu strain was first reported to have infected humans in China in March 2013.