ABUJA, Feb. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Three more Nigerian states and the west African country's capital Abuja have been affected by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, bringing to seven the number of locations already identified with the disease, Information Minister Frank Nweke said on Monday.

¡¡¡¡The new locations affected are Bauchi and Zamfara, Katsina and Abuja which Nweke described as contiguous to the states, Kano, Kaduna and Plateau, where the outbreak was first isolated.

    "The situation is under control to the extent that the outbreakis mostly localized to contiguous states," the minister told reporters on behalf of the bird flu crisis management center, which was set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo early this month.

    "Extensive diagnostic tests have been conducted and are ongoingamongst poultry workers nationwide and to date no human cases havebeen recorded in Nigeria," Nweke added.

    The outbreak of bird flu started in January 10 this year at a commercial farm in Kaduna but was only confirmed on February 8. There are fears that the virus could reach the thickly populated southern cities like Lagos.

    Nigeria is the first country on the African continent to reportan outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus which has claimed atleast 91 lives, mostly in Asia, since 1997. Enditem