China has discovered a strain of bird flu that is deadly to humans at a farm in the far western region of Xinjiang, the latest outbreak of the disease scientists warn could cause a future global pandemic. More than 13,000 geese were slaughtered to curb its spread, the Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday, after hundreds of dead geese were found on the farm in Xinjiang's Tacheng district and some 1,000 showed signs of illness, according to Reuters. "The Xinjiang Veterinary Office, in accordance with animal epidemic prevention regulations, has adopted measures to seal off and sterilise the area," the ministry said in a statement. "Presently, the outbreak has been brought under control." Tests showed the cases were caused by the H5N1 virus, which first surfaced in poultry in Hong Kong and China eight years ago and has killed more than 50 people in Southeast Asia since it swept across large parts of the region in 2003. Scientists have warned that avian flu, which is infectious in birds but does not spread easily among humans, could mutate into a form better able to pass from animals to people, possibly triggering a global pandemic. They say such a pandemic would likely start in Asia and could kill millions and result in devastating economic losses. China last month reported an outbreak in wild birds in the northwestern province of Qinghai, prompting a vaccination campaign that extended to neighbouring regions, including Xinjiang. --More 1006 Local Time 0706 GMT
