The possibility that a migratory bird found dead in southwestern Albania might have died of bird flu cannot be completely ruled out, Albanian health officials warned on Monday.

Preliminary test results found no bird flu virus in the dead bird, health officials said, but adding samples have been collected for further tests and analyses.

The bird was found dead in the Seman marsh, near the southwestern city of Fier. This is the first time that Albania has discovered a suspected case of bird flu since the World Health Organization issued a worldwide alert.

Albania has banned imports of poultry from Turkey, Croatia and Greece, where bird flu cases have been detected. Last week, it buried 3,000 live birds imported from Greece.

Source: Xinhua