A 24-day quarantine ended Thursday morning in Yongzhou, central China's Hunan Province, where a bird flu outbreak was reported in November, the local government said.

The avian flu outbreak, the second one reported in the central province this year, hit Laobutou Village of Qilidian Township in Yongzhou City on November 18. More than 390 chickens and 12 ducks died of the H5N1 strain of the highly pathogenic avian flu, a state avian flu lab confirmed on November 28.

The provincial disease control and prevention authorities immediately shipped 500,000 milliliter of bird flu vaccine to the region for emergency vaccination, and Ministry of Agriculture sent an expert team to oversee quarantine work.

More than 108,000 fowls were killed and another 140,000 vaccinated in the area, said He Ningsheng, a local disease prevention and control official.

Local farmers were compensated 10 yuan (US$1.2) for each poultry killed.

No new case has been reported in the district since November 30, said Ou Daiming, deputy director of the provincial agricultural department.

A joint inspection team consisting of vets and health prevention specialists concluded on Wednesday, after a two-day checkup, that the bird flu outbreak had been eradicated and quarantine could be lifted.  

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2005)