In an official report from northwest China, it was announced that an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been discovered. Approximately 95,000 chickens were culled from the outbreak in Touying Township, Ningxia region of China.

The virus first showed up last week when 23,000 chickens began to show symptoms of the “H5N1” virus. Xinhua News agency quoted the Chinese Ministry Ningxia region of Agriculture as the source for their information.

Work teams have been sent to the affected area from the agriculture ministry to insure prevention of further contamination. The ministry says the “epidemic is now under control.”

China is one of the countries at greater risk for bird flu epidemics because they have the world’s largest chicken populations located in rural areas close to humans.

This past January a man died after contracting the bird flu in southwestern China’s Guizhou province. The health department authorities now announce another fatality this year, from the recent virus outbreak in the Ningxia region.