The highly pathogenic bird flu virus strain H5N1 was found in an imported parrot which died in a quarantine, British officials confirmed on Sunday evening.

Scientists, who analyzed the bird more than 48 hours, have found it to have H5N1 bird flu, which has killed more than 60 people in Asia after outbreaks in 2003, said the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Animal experts would begin investigating how the bird, from Surinam, South America, was infected with the deadly strain of the virus, the BBC reported.

The government's Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said she believed the parrot, which died on 16 October, caught the disease while it was in quarantine with 216 birds from Taiwan.

All of the other birds that came into contact with the parrot have been culled.

Reynolds said more tests were underway on the birds from Taiwan, as some of them had died before the parrot.

Defra is asking for a "case-by-case risk assessment" on all birds in quarantine before they are released.

As the death was in quarantine, Britain's bird flu-free status was unchanged, Reynolds said on Friday.

Experts have played down the threat to people from the disease as it does not spread easily among humans.

But there are fears of a bird flu pandemic if it mutates to spread more easily.

"We will be talking urgently to stakeholders about restricting bird markets, fairs and shows," she said.

Concerns over the disease have prompted the UK government to call for an EU-wide ban on imports of wild birds from all the countries in the world.

Currently imports are only banned from countries which have bird flu cases, such as Romania, Thailand and Turkey.

Source: Xinhua