Birds given herbal medicine to fight virus

A zoo in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, is feeding fowl with the traditional herbal remedy Banlangen amid growing concern over a new strain of bird flu, authorities at the zoo confirmed.

Chen Daqing, an official in charge of the zoo, said that several hundred of its wild birds, including parrots and peacocks, have been fed with Banlangen in their drinking water, in order to help them resist the H7N9 flu virus, Modern Express reported on Thursday.

"It will last for at least two weeks. After that we will decide whether or not to continue according to the situation," Chen said.

None of the birds have so far been found to be behaving abnormally, Qian Xiaohong, head of the zoo's animal management department, told the newspaper.

The zoo also changed the diet of its wild animals from chicken to beef.

Earlier, Chinese media reported that a chicken farmer in the neighboring province of Zhejiang had fed 1,800 of his chickens with the herbal remedy, which is thought, but has never been scientifically proven, to have the effect of preventing the virus.