The authorities have begun slaughtering poultry and monitoring residents after discovering two outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in the same state, they said today.

About 100 officials in protective clothing have already killed tens of thousands of birds at the outbreak sites which are about 100km apart in the northern state of Perak.

"Since last night we killed 39,588 birds. It includes ducks and chickens," Wan Mohamad Kamil, an officer from the state Veterinary Department.

"We expect to kill to 50,000 birds in the next few days," he added.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said authorities were in a state of preparedness to tackle any outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic.

"We are always on the alert and we take immediate action to prevent the repercussions," he was quoted as saying by the state Bernama news agency.

"The important thing is not to wait for it to spread before taking action. That's not our way. The way to do it is to act immediately," he said.

Malaysia announced the new outbreaks, at a resort and a village in the northern state, yesterday.

Routine surveillance uncovered the first on a nature reserve at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, where 249 birds of 30 species are kept in an enclosed area, while tests were also positive for nine free-range chickens found dead at Changkat Tualang village on March 11.

Perak has one of the the biggest duck and chicken industries in the country and exports poultry to neighbouring Singapore.

By migratory birds?

Wan Mohamad said there are three commercial farms in Changkat Tualang, which has a population of about 400 people.

He said the outbreak at the nature reserve could have been caused by migratory birds.

"It is next to a lake which is frequented by wild birds," he said.

Health officials have also began visiting homes within 300 metres of the two outbreak areas.

"The is our action plan. We have four teams consisting of 12 people who are visiting homes to check if anyone has fever," said health ministry disease control department director Ramlee Rahmat.

He advised anyone who has visited the Bukit Merah nature reserve to seek medical attention if they come down with any flu-like symptoms.

Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said no humans had been found to be infected with the virus in the two outbreak areas, Bernama reported.

H5N1 was detected last month in 40 free-range chickens in four villages in Gombak, north of Kuala Lumpur, the first outbreak in more than a year.

More than 90 people have died from bird flu in China, Southeast Asia, Iraq and eastern Turkey since 2003. So far, there have been no human deaths in Malaysia due to the virus.