BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhuanet) -- China's Ministry of Agriculture announced Saturday that the quarantine on Gaolan County of northwest China's Gansu Province hit by the H5N1 strain of bird flu had been lifted.

    No new avian influenza cases had been detected in these areas for 21 consecutive days since the last birds were destroyed, said a ministry spokesman.

    Experts on animal epidemics and officials concluded after inspections that the disease had been eradicated in these areas and they met the requirements for the lifting of isolation orders as stipulated in the Emergency Countermeasures Against Avian Influenza and the Technical Standards Regarding the Fight Against Avian Influenza.

    The ministry urged local governments and animal epidemic prevention and control organizations to remain vigilant and continue supervision to prevent new cases.

    The ministry said it received no reports of new suspected or confirmed bird flu cases Saturday. China has reported no new bird flu cases for 19 days on run. Enditem