A large number of turtle doves have been found dead over the past few days in southern Mauratania, triggering new fears of bird flu spread in Africa, the Mauratinia-based Horizons newspaper reported Thursday.

In the country's central south region of Brakna, authorities reported "massive deaths" of the birds around a pond close to the Senegal River.

Meanwhile, experts from the French Institute of Agricultural Research (CIRAD) have arrived in the West African state, where they have conducted nearly 500 preliminary tests on the dead birds.

Nicolas Gaidet, head of the French team, was quoted as saying that the samples would be sent to laboratories in Europe for analysis.

Before the final results come out, authorities would not say that the country has been hit by bird flu, according to the newspaper.

Nigeria is the first country on the African continent to report an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, which has claimed at least 91 lives, mostly in Asia, since 1997.

H5N1 has also been detected in neighboring Niger lately. Dead birds have also been found in Senegal, but it is not yet known whether they have died of bird flu.

Experts fear that if the bird flu virus can not be contained, it could go rampant from West Africa throughout the continent, where most countries lack resources to combat the disease.

Source: Xinhua