The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found at two new locations in Malaysia's northern state of Perak, where the authorities confirmed two bird flu cases last week, local officials said on Tuesday.

The virus was confirmed on Tuesday at a location near the town of Gopeng and a place in Bota, but no birds have died of the disease in the two areas so far, said Perak Agriculture and Agro- Based Committee Chairman Radzi Manan.

The Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh, capital of the state, confirmed the existence of the virus through samples taken from several free-range chickens, the official said.

The samples were taken during the monitoring operation launched after two cases of bird flu were detected at a village near Gopeng and an ecopark near Taiping City last week, Malaysia's national news services Bernama said.

The Malaysian Health Ministry and the Veterinary Services Department have launched operations to cull fowls around the two new locations, Radzi said.

He advised the public not to panic because no case of human infection has been detected so far.

Source: Xinhua