In a statement, the agriculture ministry said 132 poultry had died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in a village outside the regional capital Lhasa and about 7,700 birds had been slaughtered to control the second outbreak of bird flu in the Himalayan region this year.
In January, about 1,000 birds died and 13,000 more were slaughtered at an earlier outbreak in Gongga county,about 50 kilometers south of Lhasa.
Just the day before, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing confirmed the 18th fatality in the region.The man, surnamed Li, died on January 24 and had tested positive for the H5N1 strain.
The ministry did explain how the the victim might have contracted the disease. However, persons who had contact with Li have been placed under strict medical supervision.
So far, no one had exhibited symptoms of the H5N1 virus.
World Health Organization figures reveal that H5N1 has killed more than 200 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003.
