Two new outbreaks have been confirmed in the northeastern province of Liaoning, bringing China's total to six reported outbreaks in the past month. The three most recent episodes have all occurred in Liaoning, and over 6 million birds have been culled in that province alone.

The Chinese government has sent letters to the country's 800 million rural residents explaining the basic facts of the avian-influenza epidemic, including descriptions of the symptoms of the disease in birds.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in the letter that it is a "very grave situation" and emphasized the importance of prevention and control of the disease.

Farmers were told to "enhance their awareness of the disease, improve their capability to prevent the further spread of the epidemic, and take action to prevent any human infection of the bird flu virus," the Xinhua news agency reported.

The letter included instructions on the regular cleaning of henhouses, and farmers were advised to have their flocks vaccinated, warned against the use of fake and black-market vaccines, and requested to quickly report suspected cases to local veterinarians and government officials.

Meanwhile:

-- The first bird-flu cases in the Middle East were reported Thursday, as a peacock and a flamingo were found to be infected in Kuwait.

Early indications show that neither bird was infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza currently causing a pandemic in Asia, and they are believed to have had the less harmful H5N2 variety.

-- Italy has discovered a further strain of avian influenza following testing of 1,000 wild and migratory birds.

While some birds were found to have H5N1 antibodies, they were of a new, low pathogenic variety, which is unrelated to the strain so common in Southeast Asia and does not present a risk to humans.

-- The fight against bird flu in Southeast Asia has taken another turn, as Vietnam sends in the army to fight the disease while Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia are to receive visits from European Union Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou, who has already visited Vietnam as part of a 10-day tour of the region.

There are fears in Vietnam that avian influenza has become more prevalent, leading to complaints that the pandemic was not originally responded to with sufficient urgency. Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat responded with the launch of an emergency plan that made use of the police and army in affected areas.

"We must launch a campaign to build each hamlet, each commune into a stronghold for fighting the epidemic. In an emergency, the army will be deployed to isolate the infected area," said the minister.

-- Loath to miss an opportunity to spread their message, animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Wednesday flew in the face of scientific evidence and demonstrated outside the Department of Agriculture, stating "Bird Flu Kills: Go Vegetarian."

Despite PETA's good intentions, it must be stressed that it has been scientifically established that there is no risk whatsoever of contracting bird flu from eating any form of cooked poultry, and that all those who have so far contracted the disease have lived in close contact with birds and bird feces.

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