No new cases have been reported in seven days at the bird flu-hit Heishan County of northeast China's Liaoning Province by Thursday, signing the epidemic in the area was put under effective control, local government said Thursday.

No human cases have been reported in the county and neighboring areas after strict checks and monitoring on nearly 50,000 people in close contact with the sick poultry, said a spokesman of the provincial government.

In addition, a female chicken raiser, who suffered from serious pneumonia and fever but tested negative for the virus, would be discharged from hospital soon, said Dong Degang, deputy director of the provincial health department.

The epidemic first broke out on October 26 as chickens were found dead on family farms at a village in Badaohao town of Heishan county and then spread in six towns in the county and several towns in the neighboring Beining City.

China's National Avian Flu Reference Laboratory confirmed the virus in the dead chicken from the areas was the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu on November 3.

Since the epidemic was confirmed, the epidemic-stricken areas were immediately blocked and 30 checking stations and disinfection points were set up around the areas. More than 4,000 armed police officers and professionals have been mobilized to carry out a compulsory slaughtering mission in the bird flu-hit areas.

A total of 369,900 family birds within a radius of three kilometers have been culled and more than 300 million have been vaccinated.

The provincial government has allocated more than 191 million yuan (US$23.55 million) as compensation to local farmers by Tuesday.

"Most of the farmers have received the compensatory money," said Zhou Liyuan, spokesman of the Liaoning provincial government.

"I understand the importance to kill the chickens and I am relieved since the government has made an arrangement for our future life," said Liu Xiangang, a poultry farmer from the Gangtai Village in Heishan.

To ensure public health, local government has also sent more than 300 medical workers to the epidemic zone to offer free medical check and vaccination for local farmers.

The bird flu broke out in six towns in Heishan county which is located on the East Asia-Australia route where migratory birds used to move. More than 20 magpies and other wild birds were found dead there, according to the spokesman.

Experts believe this outbreak may have been caused by migratory birds and higher temperature have induced migratory birds to linger longer in Liaoning, said Zhou.

Besides, the other three bird-flu hit areas, namely, Beining City, Nanzhan New District of Jinzhou City, Fumeng County of Fuxin City have not report new cases.

Liaoning, however, has still been on high alert of the epidemic situation in the province as the Ministry of Health confirmed two human cases and one suspected case of H5N1 bird flu on Wednesday.

"We will continue our efforts to prevent the disease commutating to people," said Zhou.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)