BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- China"e;s Ministry of Agriculture will send 12 teams to Chinese localities to supervise the prevention and control of bird flu after a recent outbreak in China"e;s southern Guangdong Province.

    China is preparing itself for the autumn season when major animal-related diseases are frequently reported, and for risks from the frequent poultry trade across the country before the two major festivals, mid-autumn day and National Day.

    The disease prevention and control is still under great pressure in China, as disease has continued to attack adjacent countries, said Vice Minister Yin Chengjie.

    Yin has urged supervision teams to examine the vaccination efforts in local areas. The supervision team will also check the disease-prevention measures on poultry farms.

    A new outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in south China"e;s Guangzhou in early September, which killed 9,830 ducks.

    The outbreak was confirmed as a sub-type of H5N1 bird flu by the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory and the government has culled 36,130 fowls and plans to cull 10,000 more in the infected region.

    China has reported a total of 25 human cases of bird flu since 2003, which have resulted in 16 deaths.