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.

The report said the outbreak was “under control”, but gave no additional details.

The government’s last reported outbreak occurred earlier this month among birds in Zhongwei, a city in China’s northern Ningxia region.

Health experts fear the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed at least 133 people since resurfacing in Asia in 2003, could mutate into a form easily spread among people, possibly sparking a global pandemic.