Authorities confirmed Tuesday that the latest death of ducks in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was caused by the bird flu virus, but no infections in human beings have been found so far.

Right after the death report of ducks from a duck farm in Dingdang Town, Long'an County on Friday, the local government decimated 14,000 poultry three kilometers around the duck farm, and quarantined all poultry five kilometers around the duck farm.

The national bird flu reference laboratory confirmed, after testing on samples sent in by the local government, that the death was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.

The local government has isolated the area following the death report in accordance with China's Law on Animal Epidemic Prevention.

A separate report on Monday said that death reports followed in a chicken raising household in Wuxue city in central Hubei Province and in a duck raising household in Wugang city in neighboring Hunan Province. Local veterinary departments preliminarily diagnosed the cause of the deaths as suspect deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus. Local governments have made necessary measures of slaughter or quarantine to prevent a spread, and sent samples to related authorities.

No people have been found infected so far and the epidemic has been in control, governments said.

The relevant ministries and local governments were closely watching on the situations where bird deaths had been reported, and probing into the source of the virus.

Measures have been made to strictly control exports of bird flu-affected areas to either domestic or overseas markets.

The Ministry of Agriculture has launched nationwide preventive and control efforts, and will announce the epidemic surveillance information.

Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health have informed the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization of the cases, and said their roles in exchanges and cooperation on bird flu prevention and control are welcome.

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2004)