The bird flu epidemic has been brought under effective control in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the most afflicted area in China, a local official said yesterday.

Zepu County, one of the affected areas in the region with nine reported poultry outbreaks since November 15, has been lifted out of epidemic isolation, the Ministry of Agriculture said last night.

"All the infections have been capped within the outbreak sites and not spread further," Xing Qinghua, a spokesman for Xinjiang's animal husbandry department, told China Daily.

"In line with pertaining statutes, experts have been sent to the sites to check whether it is time to lift some of the closures."

A few sites will be freed of bird flu constraints in the near future, he said without specifying.

Xinjiang reported only one case of fatal bird flu last year, but has accounted for almost one-third of China's total outbreaks so far this year.

"With its vast area, Xinjiang shares a boundary line more than 5,600 kilometres long with eight countries, so the epidemic situation is complicated," Xing said. "In addition, migratory birds traverse large swathes of land, increasing the likelihood of infecting poultry."

He conceded that the region has felt the pressures of preventing and controlling the epidemic.

Three of the nine outbreaks occurred in or around Urumqi, the regional capital, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

In the latest outbreak reported in the region last Wednesday, 300 fowls died on November 24 in Xinyuan County. The ministry confirmed the poultry deaths were caused by the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Veterinary workers culled more than 118,000 poultry within a 3-kilometre radius as a precaution.

"We are now engaged in a campaign of vaccinating all kinds of poultry in the region," Xing said, citing initial statistics as saying 80 per cent of the poultry population have already been given "effective" doses.

All the vaccines in use were produced by State-designated companies and apportioned by the Ministry of Agriculture. A record was logged for each inoculated bird, he said.

"Thanks to effective immunization, the epidemic situation in Xinjiang has become stable," the spokesman said.

Xing's department has yet to calculate the losses the contagion has caused the domestic fowl industry.

"In line with State Council stipulations, the autonomous region is implementing preferential policies and strengthening publicity to relieve public panic over bird flu, and promote normal consumption of poultry products," he said.

Out of the same consideration, Central China's Hunan Province announced on Sunday it had cancelled a birdwatching festival on Dongting Lake, an annual festival held since 2002.

So far, China has reported at least 30 outbreaks of bird flu in 11 provinces and regions and confirmed three human cases.

(China Daily December 6, 2005)