BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Ministry of Agriculture Tuesday received a report from the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory that the suspected bird flu case in Chao'an County in south China's Guangdong Provi nce had been confirmed.

    The ministry also reported some new suspected cases -- in Anning District and Jingyuan County in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province; Yingzhou District and Jieshou City in Anhui Province; Xiangfan City in Hubei Province; and Chang'an District in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province.

    The suspected bird flu case in Chao'an was reported on Jan. 31,along with another in Ezhou City, in Hubei, following three confirmed cases and three suspected one's on the Chinese mainland.

    The Chao'an government immediately enforced sweeping fowl slaughter and quarantine measures and submitted related samples to the Harbin-based National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory. The epidemic has been brought under control and no human infections have been found so far, according to ministry sources.

    The ministry has dispatched teams to help local governments fight the bird flu epidemic. The outbreaks have been reported to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization.

    Meanwhile, a report has revealed the abnormal deaths of black-necked cranes at Shenzhen Wildlife Zoo in Guangdong. An investigation team has been dispatched to the city, the ministry said. Enditem