PORT-OF-SPAIN (CMC):

Agriculture officials have discovered a strain of bird flu here but assured anxious nationals that the species did not pose a great danger to public health, though it could cause deaths in poultry.

A statement from the Agriculture Ministry Friday said the strain discovered at farm in central Trinidad should not be confused with the H5N1 strain which is responsible for human deaths in Asia and Western Europe.

Samples have been sent to the United Kingdom for verification and the ministry said plans are in place to contain the spread of the disease.

It said the strain, discovered during routine surveillance for the presence of the H5N1 "does not pose a significant threat to human beings."

Not strange

The statement said it is found in bird populations throughout the world and its occurrence in Trinidad "is not surprising."

"It does have some agricultural significance as it may cause deaths in poultry, although the impact on the country's poultry industry is expected to be negligible," the release added.

Earlier this year thousands of chickens had to be culled at a farm in East Trinidad, but the deaths were linked to aspergillosis - a fungal infection.