(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-09 21:06

WARSAW -- Poland has detected the fourth outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in the central part of the country, local media reported Sunday.

The latest outbreak has been detected at a poultry farm some 50 km from the three sites found last week, where several thousand of birds were being raised, chief veterinarian Ewa Lech said.

She added that a 3-km quarantine zone has been set up near the site.

Last week, more than 11,000 turkeys were culled after the deadly H5N1 virus was detected in three poultry farms near the central city of Plock, some 100 km northwest of Warsaw.

On Monday, Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said there was so far no threat to people's lives and health.

He also pledged that the affected farmers would receive appropriate compensation for slaughtered stock.

The recent outbreaks were Poland's first cases of the H5N1 virus since a number of infected wild swans were discovered near the northern city of Torun in 2006.

The European Union and Poland's neighbouring countries have imposed a ban on poultry products from the affected region.