China's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region reported an outbreak of the H5N1 virus in poultry, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced Monday, Xinhua reported.

The disease has killed 1,600 chickens raised by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC). A total of 5,500 XPCC-farmed chickens showed symptoms of suspected avian flu on June 20.

Local authorities have sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where a total of 156,439 chickens have been culled and safely disposed of to prevent the disease from spreading.

Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a contagious disease of animal origin caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. It can be fatal to humans.

(Xinhua contributed to this story)

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