Djibouti reported east Africa's first human case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, according to reports from the Red Sea state on Saturday.

The reports quoted a statement from Djibouti's Health Ministry as saying that virology tests from samples of an infected person taken last month were positive for the virulent strain of the flu virus, which had also affected three domestic hens.

"Tests from a person suffering from flu-like symptoms on April 27 were positive for the disease," said the statement, which was read on state radio.

But it did not give the condition or identity of the infected person.

Djibouti said the tests were carried out with the collaboration of the World Health Organization (WHO) at a laboratory in Cairo.

The statement said the government was taking all necessary precautions to keep the virus from spreading, adding that it would step up its monitoring of humans and poultry and ensure the provision of drugs to treat it.

Djibouti is the first country in East Africa to report the appearance of the H5N1 virus in either birds or humans and the second in Africa to report a human case after Egypt.

It is the eighth African country to find the strain in birds after Nigeria, Egypt, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire and Sudan.

Source: Xinhua