An international network of infectious disease specialists is seeking information on whether chicken deaths in Jiangsu's Haian and Dongtai counties over the past few weeks are due to bird flu. 'Local chicken deaths are relatively serious. Egg production has dropped sharply due to the outbreak. But because [the outbreak] has not yet been confirmed by authorities, it is still uncertain whether it is actually avian influenza,' said ProMed-mail rapporteur Dan Silver. ProMed-mail, the Programme for Monitoring Emerging Diseases, is a programme of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. 'It is hoped that poultry farmers will quickly take precautionary measures,' the posting added. Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said he had not received any reports of recent outbreaks on the mainland. An official with Jiangsu's Dongtai county bureau of forestry and animal husbandry, who identified himself only as Mr Wang, denied there was a bird flu outbreak.