GUANGZHOU - The H7N9 bird flu virus has been found in a poultry farm in the southern city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province, the provincial agriculture department confirmed on Thursday.

Samples from live chickens were collected from Zhuhai Jinfeng Poultry Co Ltd in Doumen district and tested positive for H7N9 by the provincial center for animal disease control, the department said.

The department sent experts to the company and disposed of more than 80,000 live chickens. It also provided five tons of disinfectant.

The samples were then sent to the Ministry of Agriculture's national laboratory and tested positive again for the virus on Tuesday, according to a statement from the department.

Gong Guifen, secretary general of China Poultry Industry Association under the China Animal Agriculture Association, said finding the H7N9 virus in a poultry farm may heavily impact the industry.

Since the H7N9 influenza outbreak in March 2013, the country's poultry industry has suffered losses worth more than 40 billion yuan ($6.7 billion) after the closure of poultry markets.

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