China reported an outbreak of avian influenza after 2,500 poultry died in the central province of Hubei, the Ministry of Agriculture said today on its Web site.

The new outbreak of bird flu, the first in Hubei, is in two townships in the Jingshan county, the ministry said in a statement. China has reported four bird flu outbreaks in the northeastern province of Liaoning and one in Inner Mongolia this month.

The outbreak in Hubei province was found on Nov. 2, the statement said. China´s National Avian Flu Reference Laboratory confirmed on Nov. 11 that the domestic fowl were infected with the H5N1 virus. Local authorities have culled 31,313 poultry within a 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) radius to control the spread of the disease.

Bird flu outbreaks in poultry increase the risk of the virus mutating into a form that´s easily spread among humans, which could lead to a pandemic. China has enlisted the help of the World Health Organization in investigating three suspected human cases in Xiangtan county in the country´s southern province of Hunan.