ADDIS ABABA, March 1 (Xinhuanet) -- A suspected case of the deadly bird flu has been found on a poultry farm in southern Ethiopia, officials said Wednesday.

    They said Ethiopian vets have found flu-like symptoms in 49 chickens from the farm, adding that more tests are needed to confirm what type of virus killed the fowls.

    The farm is located at Endibir, some 200 km southwest of the capital Addis Ababa. The area is part of the South Ethiopia People's State.

    Mulugeta Debalkew, head of Information and Public Relations Bureau with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, told journalists that samples, taken from over 6,000 chickens that had died in the past two weeks at the farm, will be sent to an Italian lab for further testing in the next 48 hours.

    Meanwhile, Selashi Zewde, head of the ministry's Veterinary Department, said some 9,000 chickens at the suspected farm will be killed starting this week.

    Selashi said the government were taking measures to prevent the disease from spreading, adding that the measures included a ban on the sale of the poultry and poultry products within a 60-km radius of the farm.

    UN experts have warned East African Rift Valley countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are at high risk for outbreaks because millions of migratory birds fly south to warmer climes during the European winter.

    They believe rural communities around the lakes of the Rift Valley region in East Africa, which rely heavily on poultry farming to survive, could be hardest hit. Enditem