Kenya's health expert are collecting samples from carcasses of hundreds of chicken found dumped in Nairobi's residential estates to be tested amid fears of an outbreak of bird flu virus in the east African nation, local media reported Monday.

However, health authorities have allayed fears of an outbreak of the avian flu assuring Kenyans that tests carried out on dead birds found in other parts of the country had not found any traces of the deadly Avian influenza that has caused a scare in parts of Africa, Asia and Europe.

Medical Services Director James Nyikal said the east African nation was on full alert to deal with any cases of bird flu.

"As a ministry we are taking all measures to ensure no birds enter the country with the disease and our staff in the field have been put on alert," Nyikal told The Standard Newspaper.

"People must report any mysterious deaths of birds found anywhere and they should not attempt to dispose them by themselves, as this might turn out to be dangerous," he warned.

Dressed in yellow protective clothing, black boots and gloves, the veterinary experts picked the samples and stuffed them in portable coolers for testing.

Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, Catherine Wanjohi said the tentative results would be out soon, adding that the over 400 dead broilers were found dumped by the roadside in Kasarani, Nairobi.

Some of the chicken were stuffed in gunny bags and dumped in roadside drainage canals while others littered the area, said Wanjohi.

However, she said conclusive results on whether the birds had died of the deadly H5N1 virus would be announced in ten days.

"We can get ... conclusive results in about one and a half weeks time," Wanjohi said.

Wanjohi said several other tests had been done on dead birds recovered from several parts of the country.

However, like Nyikal, she said none of the cases had tested positive for the deadly flu.

Kenya banned imports of poultry products from Nigeria early this month after an outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus in the West African nation.

The country's health authorities confirmed that no cases of avian flu had been detected in the country, which lies on a migration path for birds that may be carrying the virus whose origins of the spread are not yet known.

Wanjohi said that some of the carcasses were dumped as late as Saturday while others could have died five days ago.

She said the veterinary department would coordinate with the local authority over the disposal of the carcasses.

The health expert said efforts are underway both in the country and globally towards anticipation and "effective" response to the influenza pandemic which has been also been reported in parts of Asia and Europe.

She noted that although no cases of avian flu had been reported in Kenya, the country faced the risk from migrating birds coming from areas with the disease outbreaks.

The avian influenza which occurs mostly in birds was first isolated in birds in South Africa in 1961, although its viruses usually do not affect humans, several cases of human infection have been reported since 1997.

Since 1997, about 100 people have been affected with half of the number succumbing to the deadly bird virus.

Health experts said, though the influenza surveillance network set up four years ago, the Kenyan health ministry has been able to access rapid and accurate estimates on areas of flu circulation all over the country.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that an outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus in Nigeria shows that the rest of Africa is in danger from the disease, calling for urgent action to stop the spread of the virus.

Health experts say east African countries are at risk because birds that have already brought the deadly H5N1 strain to eastern Europe fly to the region and beyond to the escape the northern hemisphere winter.

Source: Xinhua