Cote d'Ivoire Minister of Livestocks and Marine Resources Alphonse Douaty confirmed on Saturday that chickens found dead in the Bondoukou region of the country were not caused by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

Alphonse announced that all the tests carried out by Bingerville laboratory near Abidjan were negative, but the cause of the deaths was still unknown.

There is no bird flu in the country, Alphonse stressed while urging people to keep calm.

About 200 chickens were found dead at the end of March and beginning of April in an eastern village of the country, arousing fears that the deaths marked the first outbreak of bird flu in Cote d'Ivoire.

Five African countries -- Niger, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon and Burkina Faso -- have reported the presence of the H5N1 virus since February.

Though no cases of bird flu have been detected in Cote d'Ivoire, the country has already taken measures to prevent and curb the outbreak of the disease, including banning the import of poultry products from countries affected by bird flu, the minister said.

Source: Xinhua