A small town in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which reported the Chinese mainland's first case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, was thrown open to the international media Thursday.

It was the first time Dingdang Town, in Long'an County, had been opened to foreign journalists since the outbreak of avian influenza was reported on Jan. 27.

The media group, organized by the Information Office of the State Council, comprised 14 reporters from 10 organizations, including the Xinhua New Agency, Associated Press, Reuters, Kyodo from Japan, the Straits Times from Singapore and Phoenix TV from Hong Kong.

On Jan. 27, the Ministry of Agriculture declared the deaths of ducks in a village in Dingdang resulted from the H5N1 virus.

As the infected village still in quarantine, journalists were required to put on protective suits, masks, gloves and boots during the visit.

Going through a checkpoint, the reporters then walked a 100-meter country road, about 3 meters wide, leading to the duck farm where the contagious disease was reported. The road is covered with heavy lime for disinfection.

The village had just 10 households and the road was its only link with the outside, said Gan Qiangzhong, deputy head of Long'an County.

Admission to the village was only given to slaughter and infection-control workers, said Gan, adding that daily necessities were supplied by those working to contain the disease.

Huang Shengde, the 32-year-old owner of the farm, has been confined to the village since the outbreak, which claimed his flock of 1,800 ducks.

Huang, the only duck breeder in the village, had been compensated by the government for the slaughter, but he refused to reveal the exact amount.

Duck-raising is the major source of income for Huang's family and he had profited from the business for three years.

He said that he would continue raising ducks after the disease abated, while vowing to pay more attention to epidemic protection.

"Everyday I should report my body temperature," he said. "Doctors say I am healthy."

Huang's wife, together with their two children, had gone to her parents' family before the outbreak.

"I have not seen my wife and children for more than 20 days," he said.

"Bird flu is a misfortune, but the adoption of effective measures and timely controls has contained the disease and nobody has been infected," said Gan, deputy head of the county.

Guangxi has already mobilized more than 16,000 health workers to help with vaccination and monitoring, and has intensified prevention measures, especially in areas bordering Vietnam.

About 14,000 birds within a radius of 3 km of the duck farm had been slaughtered after the outbreak and 199,000 more were killed after the region reported a suspected bird flu case in Nanning on Feb. 7.

All poultry markets had been shut down by local authorities within a radius of 10 km of the infected area in Guangxi.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2004)