China announced that another outbreak of the bird flu had appeared in the westernmost region of Xinjiang, bringing the total number of bird flu epidemics in the country this year to 30.

Some 300 farm raised poultry died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Biesituobie village in Xinyuan county on November 24, the Ministry of Agriculture reported on its website.

"On November 11, after testing at state bird flu laboratories, it was confirmed that the outbreak was the H5N1 avian flu," the ministry said.

The outbreak was the ninth to have hit Xinjiang this year, making the region one of the hardest hit by the bird flu.

The Xinjiang government has culled some 1.18 million farm raised birds within a three kilometer (1.8 mile) radius of the Biesituobie outbreak, it said.