January 6, 2014
China's Guizhou province confirms H5N1 bird flu outbreak
China'sMinistry of Agriculture (MOA) announced that an outbreak of H5N1 in poultry has been confirmed in the southwestregion of Guizhou province.
Symptoms of suspected avian flu have been shown in some chickens at a farm in a village of Libo County in the prefecture of Qiannan in Guizhou and 8,500 chickens died on December 27, 2013.
After testing samples collected at the farm, the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confirmed the epidemic was H5N1 bird flu, according to the MOA.
Local authorities have sealed off and sterilised the infected area, where a total of 23,067 chickens have been culled and safely disposed of to prevent the disease from spreading, according to the MOA.
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a contagious disease of animal origin caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. It can be fatal to humans.