China confirms new bird flu cases

Two cases of bird flu have been confirmed in poultry farms in northwest and central China, with no humans found infected so far, the Ministry of Agriculture said Saturday.

The cases -- one in Jinchang, Gansu Province, and the other in Xiaogan, Hubei Province -- were confirmed as avian influenza H5N6 after being detected a few days ago, the ministry said in a statement.

"The epidemic situation has been well controlled," the statement said, adding that local authorities have killed hundreds of thousands of fowl to prevent the spread of the disease.

The world's first human H5N6 infection was reported in May 2014 in southwest China's Sichuan Province. But there has been no evidence of human-to-human transmission.