China confirms bird flu outbreak in Tibet

An outbreak of bird flu in a Tibetan village has been confirmed by China’s Ministry of Agriculture’s in a report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

Laboratory tests showed that the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu killed 290 fowls raised by farmers in the Sangda village of Doilungdeqen county on December 2.

1,575 fowls have been culled and safely disposed of in order to prevent the disease from spreading. Authorities have also sealed off and sterilised the infected area.

Repeated outbreaks of bird flu in Tibet have been reported over the years. In 2008, an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza was reported around the same area. Over 8000 fowls were subsequently culled.

Over 1600 birds were destroyed in 2009, after authorities found strains of the H5N1 virus in poultry sold at a wholesale market in Lhasa.

Source: OIE