Malaysia was seeking talks with neighbouring Thailand as another villager from Kelantan close to the border was hospitalised for bird flu tests, officials said today.

"This is an area of concern for both our countries. We hope to arrange a meeting by next week to see how we can cooperate with Thailand in combating this problem," Hawari Hussein, director-general of the Veterinary Department, told AFP .

He described the situation in Malaysia as still being "under control", despite new outbreaks of bird flu in villages near the border with Thailand.

A 10-year-old girl was hospitalised late Sunday after she developed flu-like symptoms, said Ramlee Rahmat, director of disease control at the health ministry.

He said the girl, who lived next door to a house where chickens died of bird flu, would be held under isolation until test results were received.

Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told the national Bernama news agency a meeting with Thai authorities would be held as soon as possible.

"We want to have an understanding. Cases have spread in their area ... ours is only starting. We want to look at the preventive measures that they have taken."

Control measures to prevent poultry-smuggling at the border would also be discussed, he said.

Spread by fighting cocks

Kelantan state is under intensive monitoring following three new outbreaks of the disease announced over the weekend. Some 212 officers are conducting clinical checks at all wet markets, bird sanctuaries and pet shops, said state veterinary services director Idris Kadir.

Officials say the disease was first brought into Malaysia by fighting cocks that had been exposed to the virus in Thailand and that the new outbreaks were caused by the continued smuggling of chicken meat.

Thailand has been criticised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not doing enough to monitor birds capable of carrying the deadly avian flu virus following the kingdom's ninth human death.

The WHO fears that the H5N1 virus, which has killed 28 people in Asia this year, could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers the next global human flu pandemic.