Malaysia has detected new cases of bird flu for the second time in five days and a veterinary worker has been hospitalised with fever and cough, officials announced today.

The H5 strain of avian flu had killed eight birds in three villages in the north of Kelantan near Thailand, the veterinary department said.

"Culling of poultry in the infected area will begin later today," said Hawari Hussein, director-general of the Veterinary Department.

More tests were needed to determine whether the virus was of the H5N1 strain, which has killed 27 people in Asia this year, he said in a statement.

Ramlee Rahmat, director of disease control at the Health Ministry, told AFP that the veterinary worker had been isolated.

"He has been admitted into an isolation ward. He is down with fever and cough. We will do the required blood tests," he said.

Import bans

Hawari said the new cases were discovered within a 10 kilometre radius of a previous quarantine area in Kebakat, Paloh Hilir and Cabang Tiga villages.

After the most recent outbreak on Sept 6, some 1,200 birds, chickens and ducks within a one kilometre radius of Belian village were killed immediately to curb the spread of the disease.

Belian is near Pasir Pekan where the first recent outbreak occurred last month. In that case it was found to be the H5N1 strain which has jumped to humans, leading to the culling of hundreds of birds and a nationwide inspection of poultry farms, commercial enterprises and bird parks.

The disease killed eight people in Thailand and 19 in Vietnam earlier this year and the World Health Organisation fears the virus could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers the next global human flu pandemic.

The Federation of Lifestock Farmers Associations said the poultry industry was losing RM10 million daily following import bans by Singapore and other countries after the first outbreak.

Next global flu pandemic

The World Health Organisation, which fears the virus could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers the next global human flu pandemic, meanwhile criticised neighbouring Thailand for lax monitoring of poultry after a Thai national this week became the 28th Asian fatality of the year.

"The death from the H5N1 strain of bird flu shows the quarantine measure to prevent the epidemic among animals is not good enough, and that should be improved," WHO Thailand representative Kumara Rai was quoted as saying in the Bangkok Post .

In late July, Thailand confirmed resurgent outbreaks in chickens and other birds had hit 27 of the kingdom's 76 provinces but said it had swiftly and successfully tackled the new cases.

Komsan Fukhom, 18, who reared fighting cocks in eastern Prachin Buri province, died on Wednesday.