The recent outbreak of bird flu among ducks in the southern city of Guangzhou has determined Chinese health officials to increase prevention and control measures in the affected regions.

Chinese health authorities announced that several teams would be sent to affected localities in order to supervise the prevention and control of bird flu after a recent outbreak in China's southern Guangdong Province.

It was only days ago that official state media announced that more than 153,000 ducks and chickens had been culled in the southern city of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, so as to contain an outbreak of bird flu.

China's agricultural ministry posted a message on its website Monday evening stating the recent outbreak is now “under effective control.”

“As of September 17, 36,130 ducks have been exterminated and destroyed. At present the epidemic has been brought under effective control,” the statement said.

The following day however, Vice Agriculture Minister Yin Chengjie said some parts of China were still unprepared to cope with bird flu.

“We are still seeing epidemic outbreaks in certain places, but there are problems in some areas with unworkable bird flu control measures, vaccinations not being in place, and untimely monitoring,” Chengjie said in the Beijing News, according to Forbes.com.

State officials have reassured customers that live poultry markets have been banned throughout major cities and areas affected by bird flu.

“Our task is to prevent poultry that have been stricken by avian flu from getting into the market,” Zhou Bohua, director of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, said yesterday in Beijing.

No more poultry would be imported from Guangdong, officials said. In early September, more than 9,000 ducks died from a sub-strain of the H5N1 virus in the province, which led to the recent cull and slaughtering.

Xinhua news agency reported that the cull was carried out in nine villages in the Panyu district near the city. Almost 70 poultry farmers are undergoing medical precautionary controls, Xinhua said.

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