BEIJING -- The southwest China province of Guizhou has reported an outbreak of H5N1 in poultry, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced Thursday.

Some chickens at a farm in a village of Libo county in the prefecture of Qiannan in Guizhou showed symptoms of suspected avian flu and 8,500 chickens died on December 27, 2013.

The National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confirmed the epidemic was H5N1 bird flu after testing samples collected at the farm, according to the MOA.

Local authorities have sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where a total of 23,067 chickens have been culled and safely disposed of to prevent the disease from spreading, according to the MOA.

Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a contagious disease of animal origin caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. It can be fatal to humans.