Bird flu: China slaughters 360,000 chickens

An outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has killed 3,045 chickens in China’s far western region of Xinjiang but no humans were reported to be infected, the official Xinhua News Agency said today.

The outbreak, discovered on July 14, prompted local officials in Aksu city to slaughter an additional 356,976 chickens as a precaution, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Agriculture.