1 more poultry sample tested H7N9-positive

BEIJING - One more poultry sample in East China has tested positive for the deadly H7N9 strain of avian flu, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said on Monday.

The avian flu virus was detected in one pigeon sample collected at a pigeon farm in Haian County of Jiangsu Province, according to an MOA statement on its website.

After gene sequence analysis, the national avian flu reference laboratory concluded that the strain of H7N9 found in the sample was highly congeneric with that found in a pigeon sample on April 4.

The ministry has order the province to strengthen monitoring of the H7N9 virus and take proper disease prevention and control measures.

To date, the deadly bird flu has infected 102 people in China and killed 20 of them, while 40 poultry samples have been tested H7N9-positive by the national bird flu reference lab, according to official data.