The Indonesian government has decided to isolate South Sulawesi province from chicken trading as a fresh outbreak of bird flu has killed some 25,000 chickens last week, an official said on Wednesday.

Deputy chief of the South Sulawesi office of the Agriculture Ministry's Livestock Department Arifin Daud said the government had also distributed some 200,000 doses of a locally produced vaccine in a bid to stop the disease from spreading.

"There were indications of bird flu in the dead chickens. However, not all the chickens died because of bird flu," Arifin was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.

He said bird flu has hit the poultry business in the regencies of Maros, Sidrap, Wajo, Pinrang, Soppeng and Parepare.

Indonesia has been hit by sporadic bouts of bird flu since 2003with no cases have been reported in humans so far.

Source: Xinhua