The Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday that a total of 550 poultry had been killed in an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in Liangying Village of east China's Anhui Province, but that it has now been brought under control.

The identity of the strain was confirmed by the National Bird Flu Reference Lab on Monday, according to local media.

The ministry said it had sent experts to the area to respond to the outbreak and sterilize the area, and that no human infections or new poultry cases have been reported in the province. The dates of the first or most recent reported infections were not available.

The ministry said the provincial animal disease control center has taken a series of measures to prevent further infections on all poultry farms.

In Beijing on Tuesday, surveillance on poultry and bird markets began after an emergency prevention order was issued by the Municipal Industry and Commerce Bureau, requiring all live poultry on sale in the capital to have certificates of origin from bird flu-free regions and quarantine certificates.

Xinhua News Agency said today that Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau has setup sterilization stations at 27 highway and road entrances to the capital, making quarantine inspections on trucks transporting poultry. Animal quarantine at airports and railway stations has also been enhanced.

Lei Decai, director of the Municipal Agricultural Bureau, said it had ensured immunity amongst 98 percent of poultry stock and 80 percent of birds in zoos, safari parks and bird markets.

The municipal forestry authority has set up 57 stations to monitor migratory birds inhabiting wetlands, reservoirs and parks, according to Xinhua.

In west China's biggest city, Chongqing, 101 checkpoints have been set up to monitor stock entering the city.

The Veterinary Department of Chongqing’s Municipal Agricultural Bureau said it had reinforced immunity amongst poultry stock and epidemic-control on large poultry farms.

Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, has designated a number of hospitals to monitor flu patients and asked them to report suspected cases.

In northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where about 2,600 birds died following a recent H5N1 outbreak, medical staff were looking out for human infections, but none have been reported in the quarantine-isolation area.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2005)