March 21, 2014
China's Guangdong Province detects H7N9 bird flu virus in poultry farm
Guangdong Province's agriculture department confirmed the detection of the H7N9 bird flu virus in a poultry farm in the southern city of Zhuhai.
Samples from live chickens were collected from Zhuhai Jinfeng Poultry Co., Ltd. in Doumen District and tested positive for H7N9 by the provincial centre for animal disease control, the department said.
The department sent experts to the company and disposed of more than 80,000 live chickens. It also provided five tonnes of disinfectant.
The Ministry of Agriculture's national laboratory tested the samples sent to them and resulted positive for the bird fluvirus, according to a statement from the department.
Gong Guifen, secretary general of China Poultry Industry Association under the China Animal Agriculture Association, said finding the H7N9 virus in a poultry farm may heavily impact the industry.
Since the H7N9 influenza outbreak in March 2013, the country's poultry industry has suffered losses worth more than RMB40 billion (US$6.7 billion) after the closure of poultry markets.