Two more outbreaks of bird flu were confirmed in the northeast province of Liaoning yesterday in the prefectures of Fuxin and Jinzhou, bringing the number confirmed in China since October 19 to six.

About 1,100 chickens were reported to have been killed by the disease in Jinzhou’s Daling Village and Fuxin’s Chaoyangsi Village since being reported to the provincial health authorities on Sunday.

The most recent outbreak prior to these, in Badaohao Village of Heishan County, was also in Jinzhou.

The National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confirmed yesterday that the latest cases involved the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. The Ministry of Agriculture reported the outbreaks to the World Organisation for Animal Health the same day.

Local governments have culled 500,000 poultry within a 3-kilometer radius and vaccinated 198 million birds to prevent its spread.

(China Daily November 10, 2005)