A spokesman with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday that the bird flu outbreak in Qinghai Province in northwestern China has been "brought under control."

Jia Youling, the spokesman and also director general of the ministry's Veterinary Bureau, said the number of migrant birds killed by the disease has dropped to about 20 a day since June 8.

Thus far, more than 6,000 migratory birds have died since the disease was reported on May 4.

Jia said the ministry has reported the latest developments to relevant international organizations.

The governments at all levels in China attach great importance to the prevention and control of bird flu and related departments have taken many measures to prevent the disease. Since the bird flu outbreak was reported in Qinghai, the local government has done a lot to prevent the epidemic from spreading, he said, adding that no fowl or human beings have been infected so far.

Jia said the Agriculture Ministry is studying and testing the virus drawn from the birds killed by the fatal disease in Qinghai, and the result will be reported to concerned international organizations as soon as possible.

China has provided five viral strains to the World Health Organization (WHO) since bird flu cases were reported in the country last year.

The Agriculture Ministry hopes for closer cooperation with international organizations and welcomes international experts to Chinese labs for study, Jia said.

The WHO has asked China to test some of the birds in the area to determine if any species were infected with the virus.

Each summer, some 189 species of birds flock to Qinghai Lake, amating ground for migratory birds, before heading south and west. Qinghai Lake has become a popular tourist attraction.

In late May, more than 1,000 wild birds, including geese and gulls, were killed by the H5N1 flu strain in Qinghai.

In Asia, at least 54 people have died so far this year after being infected by sick birds, reports said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2005)