GUANGZHOU, March 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The death of some 300 ducks in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, was caused by a virus called Infective Serositis, and not the H5N1 bird flu, reports the provincial agriculture department.

    The dead and affected ducks were culled by February 27 and the duck farm, in the Huadu District of the city, has been disinfected, according to department officials.

    A villager in Huadong Township purchased 650 ducklings in December and January this year and had been raising them at a pond he contracted, according to the district agriculture department.

    The deaths occurred on February 24. The virus is also known as New Duck Disease as it usually infects only ducklings. The duck farmer did not take measures to cope with the epidemic.

    The district agriculture department sent experts to the pond on February 27, only to find the water quality of the pond was bad and it contained many dead fish.

    Experts culled the remaining ducks and disinfected the pond.

    The disease is quite infectious among ducklings aged two to four weeks. It is usually triggered by unclean breeding environment and spreads quickly in cold weather. Enditem