British government announced on Friday a parrot imported from south America which died in quarantine in Britain has been diagnosed with avian flu, the first case of its kind in Britain for more than a decade.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the South American bird was infected with the H5 strain of the virus. It was part of a mixed consignment of 148 parrots and " soft bills" that arrived in Britain on September 16.

Defra says the birds, which were being kept in a biosecure quarantine unit, have all been humanely culled, stressing there is no cause for alarm.

Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said: "The confirmed case does not affect the UK's official disease free status, because the disease has been identified in imported birds during quarantine."

The development came as European Union health ministers have been holding a second day of emergency talks in London amid growing fears of a bird flu pandemic in Europe following the discovery of the potentially lethal HN51 strain in Romania and Turkey.

Reynolds said the incident showed the importance of Britain's quarantine system, adding: "We have had similar incidents in the past where disease has been discovered but successfully contained. "

Defra stressed it was "very difficult" for humans to contract avian influenza, but all those who came in contact with the culled birds have been given antiviral treatment as a precautionary measure.

It has been the first case of avian flu in Britain since early 1990s. The imported parrot was found infected with H5 strain of the virus, but it is not know if it is the H5N1 variant which has killed at least 60 people in Asia.

Source: Xinhua