China has discovered H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry in the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said.

The National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory on Thursday discovered the H5N1 bird flu virus from the samples collected at the Xuanhe town of Zhongwei City in Ningxia, the MOA said on Friday evening.

Upon the case was identified, the MOA immediately sent expert teams to Zhongwei to control any possible outbreak.

An emergency mechanism has been launched and the local veterinary departments have set up examination stations to disinfect people and vehicles into and out of the affected area.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2006)