H5N1 bird flu found in Kazakhstan swans - source

ASTANA, Mar 20 (Reuters) The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has been found among dead swans in western Kazakhstan, an agriculture ministry official said today.

''We took samples and a few days ago two laboratories confirmed the diagnosis,'' the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Birds in Kazakhstan were hit by an H5N1 outbreak last year. None of the country's 15 million citizens were infected then.

Bird flu is essentially an animal disease which occasionally infects people who come into direct contact with infected poultry.

It has killed up to 98 people since late 2003, most of them in East Asia.

There are fears the virus could develop into a form that passes easily from person to person, causing a pandemic in which millions could die.

REUTERS KD PM1146