BEIJING, June 24 -- Authorities reported another outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the western region of Xinjiang on Wednesday.

    The Ministry of Agriculture told the United Nations¡¯ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) a national laboratory had confirmed that 40 cattle in Xinjiang¡¯s Weili County were infected with foot-and-mouth disease, said Noureddin Mona, an FAO¡¯s Beijing-based representative.

    Mona said authorities had culled 261 cattle in the central Xinjiang county and said the situation was under control. Foot-and-mouth disease cannot spread to humans.

    The disease has also been reported in Hebei, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, as well as in Beijing.

    Two outbreaks of bird flu have also been reported in Xinjiang this year, a source of greater concern because the H5N1 bird flu virus can infect humans.

    ¡°It (bird flu) is highly pathogenic. No one can predict when or how these things happen,¡± Mona said.

    Xinjiang¡¯s Tacheng City and the area around Qinghai Lake have reported outbreaks in domestic fowl and migratory birds.

    Following rumors that bird flu had spread from western areas, Mona said FAO had not received any reports of bird flu in the eastern regions. Jiangsu officials said farmers in the province had started vaccinating their poultry as a precautionary measure.

    Shanghai, which borders Jiangsu, has also stepped up inspections of livestock entering the city to improve food safety, Shanghai¡¯s newspaper reported.

    
(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)