Migratory birds die of bird flu in China

More than 1,000 migratory birds have died of bird flu in western China, but no human cases of the disease have been found, the country’s chief veterinary official said today.

The dead birds were found in Qinghai province and included bar-headed geese and great black-headed gulls, Jia Youling, director of the Agriculture Ministry’s Veterinary Bureau, said at a news conference.

The number is double what was reported by the ministry on Thursday.

In a statement on Thursday, the Health Ministry said authorities have found no evidence the disease spread to humans or domestic poultry.

That followed unconfirmed claims circulating on websites that as many as 120 people had died of bird flu.

Last week, China ordered that all three million poultry in Qinghai be inoculated after announcing that 178 dead migratory geese found in a nature reserve there were killed by the virus this month.