China confirms birdflu outbreak among poultry-Xinhua

BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) China has confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1 birdflu virus among poulty in the central province of Hunan, state media reported today, reporting no cases of human infection in the area hit.

The outbreak was in a village in Yiyang city in Hunan and it killed 11,172 birds, a Ministry of Agriculture spokesman told Xinhua news agency.

Scientists had sourced the poultry deaths to H5N1, the strain of avian influenza that scientists fear could mutate into a form that jumps easily from human to human, threatening an epidemic.

China, with millions of backyard birds and a strained medical system, is seen as key in the fight against bird flu.

The country's last reported human death from bird flu was in March.

Hunan authorities have taken steps to contain the outbreak, culling close to 53,000 other birds, Xinhua reported.

REUTERS AGL HT1628