Suspected outbreaks of thedeadly H5N1 strain of bird fluwere reported in seven new Chinese regions,said sources with the Ministry of Agriculture in Beijing yesterday.

The regions probably taintedby the bird flu virus includeHonghu City,Gong’an County,Songzi City and Yangxin Countyin Hubei Province.Heshan Districtof Yiyang City and ShaodongCounty in Hunan Province alsoreported suspected cases,as didJiangcheng District of YangjiangCity in Guangdong Province.

Jia Youling,the ministry’s generaldirector of stock breeding,said the ministry was informedof the outbreaks yesterday.

The local governments ofthose areas took prompt quarantinemeasures and culled poultryin the affected regions,bringingthe epidemic under control.

No human infections havebeen reported.

Meanwhile,in other relatednews,China’s State Administrationof Forestry issued an emergencynotice banning the hunting,transport and sale of wildbirds to prevent the spread ofavian influenza.

Volunteer activities to protectbirds this spring must also besuspended,said the notice.

Some wild migratory birdshave begun returning to naturalnesting grounds from southernChina as the weather warms up.

The movement of birds couldsignificantly increase the risk ofbird flu spreading,an administrationofficial said.

The administration wouldsoon launch a special campaignto crack down on the illegal huntingand sale of wild birds,forestryofficials said.

A more thorough mechanismof monitoring and examinationneeds to be established.The noticealso called for the gatheringof detailed information aboutmigratory birds,includingbreeds,habitats and habits.

The administration urged localgovernments to closely monitorthe habits and habitats of migratorybirds and prevent peopleand livestock from entering thehabitats.

The Chinese government hasalso issued regulations stating itwill compensate all poultryfarmers whose flocks are culledin the fight against bird flu.

The regulations on financialmanagement of avian influenzacontrol —jointly issued by theMinistry of Finance and Ministryof Agriculture —announcedsubsidies for farmers who vaccinatetheir birds either compulsorilyor voluntarily.

By law,all poultry within 3kilometersof a suspected or confirmed bird flu site must beslaughtered and all poultry within5kilometers must be vaccinated.

In related news,GuangdongProvince is ready to resume livepoultry exports to Hong Kongand Macau “any time”to meetthe market demand,provincialofficials said yesterday.

“None of Guangdong’s 330registered poultry farms that providepoultry for Hong Kong andMacau have reported any case ofbird flu,”said Huang Weiming,deputy director of GuangdongProvincial Administration ofQuality Supervision,Inspectionand Quarantine.

More than 60million chickensin the farms had been vaccinatedagainst the avian influenza virussince August 2003,under anagreement between the State Administrationof Quality Supervision,Inspection and Quarantine,and Hong Kong and Macau.