China reported a new outbreak of bird flu in the southwestern province of Sichuan yesterday, and the Ministry of Agriculture said the situation there was under control.

More than 1,800 birds were found dead on December 22 at a farm in Sichuan's Dazhu County, said a statement on the ministry's website.

Yesterday samples tested at a laboratory confirmed that the birds had died from the H5N1 virus, which has killed millions of birds and more than 71 people in Asia since late 2003, according to the statement.

More than 12,900 birds at the farm in Liuyan Village of Yangjia Town have since been culled to halt the spread of the virus.

Two ministry officials have been dispatched to the site to investigate bird flu prevention and control work, it said.

Authorities have destroyed millions of birds to contain outbreaks and are in the midst of a campaign to inoculate all of the nation's 5.2 billion poultry.

The ministry's statement did not refer to any confirmed or possible human infections. China has reported seven cases of bird flu in humans, three of which have been fatal.

Most human infections have been the result of contact with sick birds, but scientists fear that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among humans, sparking a human flu pandemic that could kill millions.

Health officials in China are especially concerned about the risk of transmission during the Lunar New Year in late January, when large shipments of poultry are moved around the country to supply family banquets.

(Shanghai Daily January 4, 2006)