Bird flu

agldacheng

The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture Friday confirmed outbreak of bird flu among wild birds in a remote areas Qinghai Province, northwest China.

The outbreak was confirmed by the national bird flu laboratory on Wednesday, and the number of dead wild bird had risen to 123 by Thursday, the ministry said on its website.

Seventeen dead wild geese were found in the wetlands in Yulin county, Yulin prefecture in Qinghai Province on April 23, and samples from the dead birds were sent to the state bird flu laboratory for tests.

On May 3, the laboratory confirmed that these wild birds died of H5N1 virus of bird flu.

The wetlands are more than 800 kilometers from the Qinghai Lake, where the bird island is located. This plateau area is sparsely populated.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Qinghai Province, after the dead geese were found, have taken all necessary measures to monitor and sterilize the area, and to prevent human contacts with the wild birds.