China's Ministry of Agriculture announced Monday that the quarantine of Baicheng City, northeast China's Jilin Province, imposed after an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu had been lifted.

No new avian influenza cases had been detected in the area for 21 consecutive days since the last birds were destroyed, said a ministry spokesman.

Experts on animal epidemics and officials concluded after inspections that the disease had been eradicated in these areas and they met the requirements for the lifting of isolation orders as stipulated in the Emergency Countermeasures Against Avian Influenza and the Technical Standards Regarding the Fight Against Avian Influenza.

The ministry urged all levels of government and animal epidemic prevention and control organizations across the country to remain vigilant and continue supervision to prevent new cases, as some wild birds had begun to return from south China as the weather warmed up, which could significantly increase the risk of bird flu.

The ministry said five bird flu affected areas were still under quarantine and it had received no reports of new suspected or confirmed bird flu cases on Monday. China has reported no new bird flu cases for 21 consecutive days.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2004)