A bird flu outbreak in Turpan city in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been brought under control, the municipal government said Monday.

No human case has been reported, and the quarantined farmers that had close contact with the sick chickens have shown no symptoms of the disease.

The number of poultry culled in the city has surged to more than 35,000 as local authorities continue to carry out preventative measures.

A suspected bird flu outbreak had led to the death of 4,850 fowls by Dec. 29. It was confirmed to be highly infectious H5N1 bird flu by the national bird flu laboratory on January 3.

A comparatively warm winter this year has resulted in more migratory birds staying in the area, increasing the chances of bird flu outbreaks, officials said.

"The wild birds ought to have flown south, but stayed near the city because of the warm weather this winter," an official said, adding that this had added to infection risks and made the control of the disease more difficult.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2008)