Vaccine to be tested

Poultry in two southern regions will begin receiving the first vaccine against the H7N9 bird flu virus early next month, as authorities look to control the spread of the potentially fatal disease.

Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have been chosen to test the new vaccine, as both are major centers of the poultry trade, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Evidence also indicates the "existence of highly pathogenic and low pathogenic strains of the H7N9 virus" in these areas, the authorities said.