A farm in northern China was quarantined after an H5N2 bird flu outbreak in poultry was confirmed by the local government, state media reported on Sunday, according to dpa. A total 125,700 chickens had been culled as authorities sealed and sterilized a 3-square-kilometre area near the city of Baoding, in Hebei province. About 4,000 chickens died at the farm since Tuesday with symptoms of suspected avian flu, the Xinhua news agency said. Reports on Wednesday said officials confirmed that a 73-year-old woman was the first person to die from a new strain of avian influenza in the eastern province of Jiangxi. China has reported 142 cases, including 45 deaths, of another new bird flu strain, H7N9, since it was first detected in March.
