Four previously suspected outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in China have been confirmed by the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory, according to a report received from the lab Tuesday by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.

The confirmed bird flu cases were spotted in Dongxiang County in east China's Jiangxi province, Wujiagang district of Yichang city in central Hubei province, Guandu district of Kunming city of southwest China's Yunnan province and the No. 12 Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

The local governments of those areas took prompt quarantine measures and culled poultry in the affected regions, bringing the epidemic under control.

No human infections have been found so far and no new suspected outbreaks reported on the Chinese Mainland on Tuesday, said Jia Youling, general director of stock breeding with the Ministry of Agriculture here Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2004)