China reels from another bird flu outbreak

BEIJING, Wednesday (AFP) China reeled from a third bird flu outbreak in a week as measures to tackle the threat were intensified, with sterilization stations set up on highways and checks under way at markets.

The latest outbreak came in the central province of Hunan where 545 chickens and ducks fell ill and died from the H5N1 strain, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a report filed to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

So far, 2,487 birds have been culled in Wantang village in Xiangtan county since the virus was found there on Saturday.

According to the OIE website, precautionary measures have been taken, including vaccinations and disinfection of infected areas.

It is the third outbreak in China in a week, following cases in Inner Mongolia, in the north of the country, and Anhui province in the east.

The China Daily reported Wednesday that the Anhui scare had been brought under control. "The epidemic has been stamped out and no new outbreak spots have been found," the ministry of agriculture said. "Anhui implemented a chain of emergency control measures."

Wei Jianzhong, vice-director of the Animal Husbandry and Aquaculture Institute of Anhui Agricultural University said the probable cause of that outbreak was contact with migratory birds and wild water fowl.