July 8, 2004 - 9:15 AM

China culls chickens to contain bird flu

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has culled more than 20,000 chickens in central Anhui province to isolate a new outbreak of bird flu, a local
official says.

The strain of bird flu that killed 24 people in Southeast Asia early this year has erupted in Thailand and China, but both countries said on
Wednesday the outbreaks were under control.

China said the virus had struck a farm in Chaohu, about 300 km (180 miles) west of Shanghai, where chickens had died of the virulent
H5N1 strain four months after the country declared the disease had been stamped out.

"More than 20,000 chickens were slaughtered and more than 100,000 chickens were vaccinated near the farm," an Anhui agricultural
bureau official told Reuters on Thursday.

He declined to say how many birds died from the disease, first reported on July 3.

"Local farmers whose poultry were culled will get compensation from the government this afternoon," he added.

China blamed the outbreak on migratory birds, which were thought to have spread the disease through Asia early this year as they headed
south to warmer places during the winter.