China reports H5N8 avian flu in wild birds in Shaanxi province

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday it had confirmed an outbreak of H5N8 avian influenza in wild birds at a nature reserve in the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

The outbreak at the Hongjiannao reserve in the city of Shenmu sickened and killed 4,249 birds, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

The six cases of highly pathogenic avian flu reported across China this year have been isolated incidents and there has been no regional outbreak, it added.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; writing by Tom Daly; editing by Mark Heinrich)