The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said Sunday that five more
areas in China reported suspected bird flu cases.??
These areas are Yongkang City in east China's Zhejiang Province,
Yichang City in central China's Hubei Province, Chenggong County in
southwest China's Yunnan Province, Pingyu County in central China's
Henan Province, and the No.12 Farming Division of Xinjiang
Production and Construction Corps in northwest China's Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region.
Local governments have started slaughtering birds and taken
compulsory quarantine measures in those areas, according to a press
release from the ministry.
The epidemic situation is under control and no human infection
was found in those areas, the ministry added.
The ministry has sent task forces to the five areas to help
local governments curb the spread of bird flu, and the related
department of the Chinese government has filed a report to the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World
Health Organization.
So far, confirmed bird flu cases were found in Long'an County of
the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, and Wugang City
of Hunan Province and Wuxue City of Hubei Province, central China.
East China's Shanghai City and Anhui Province and south China's
Guangdong Province reported suspected cases.
China's National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory confirmed on
Jan.27 the country's first bird flu outbreak in Long'an County of
Guangxi.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2004)