A total of 319,600 domestic birds have been culled within three kilometers of Shangxi Village, east China's Jiangxi Province, where a man was confirmed to have contracted the highly pathogenic bird flu on Thursday.

Information from the provincial government said the culled birds' shelters and farm tools along with the area's affected roads and houses have been thoroughly disinfected.

The area within three kilometers of Shangxi Village has been isolated, with 17 temporary animal inspection and quarantine stations being installed to disinfect people and vehicles upon exit and entry.

Some 353,000 poultry in areas under threat of bird flu have been vaccinated.

The patient, surnamed Guo, is a 35-year-old peddler from Shangxi Village of Quanjiang Town, Suichuan County of Jiangxi Province, east China. He fell ill on Dec. 4 with fever and symptom of pneumonia.

The China Disease Prevention and Control Center tested blood samples of Guo and found he was infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. Specialists from the Chinese Ministry of Health also confirmed Guo's infection of the deadly avian flu strain.

Ninety-one people who had close contact with Guo have been sent to hospital for a week for medical observation. None of the people have exhibited flu-like symptoms.

A preliminary diagnosis made by the provincial veterinarian department on Wednesday suspected an outbreak of bird flu among ducks reared by a villager of Shangxi Village. The National Avian Flu Reference Center confirmed it was the highly pathogenic bird flu known as H5N1.

Meanwhile, local governments have also distributed to local farmers 19,000 brochures providing details on bird flu prevention and control.

Source: Xinhua