H5N6 bird flu reported in NE China (8/12)

Local police inspect a tricycle at a checkpoint at Dongyue Village of Shuangcheng District of Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 2, 2014. Heilongjiang has reported an outbreak of the H5N6 bird flu virus in poultry, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced Monday. Over 20,000 geese at a farm in Dongyue Village of Shuangcheng showed symptoms of avian flu and almost 18,000 died last month, according to the MOA. The National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory on Monday confirmed the epidemic was H5N6. The infected area has been sealed off and sterilized with almost 69,000 poultry culled and safely disposed, the MOA said. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)