Bird flu breaks out in north

Bird flu has broken out among poultry in north China's Shanxi Province, state media reported, citing sources with the Ministry of Agriculture. The local government has launched an emergency response and quarantined the infected area after chickens died in poultry farms in Changzi County of Changzhi City. China has recorded more than 30 outbreaks of bird flu since last October. The last outbreak occurred in remote Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region early this month and the government said it was contained two days after the confirmation. China's chief veterinary officer Jia Youling warned last week that the virus was on the rise among migratory birds this year, with 1,168 found dead in Qinghai and Tibet by June 1.