KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia said on Monday it was officially free of bird flu, three months after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus among chickens, state media reported.

Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said surveillance and laboratory tests conducted since bird flu emerged in June had fulfilled conditions set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

"The prompt action by the veterinary services department to stamp out the bird flu outbreak according to the protocol has been effective," Muhyiddin said, according to the state news agency Bernama.

"We conveyed the matter to the OIE which gave the green light for Malaysia to be declared free from the disease," he added.

In June, bird flu resurfaced in Malaysia for the first time since the last outbreak in early 2006, with 60 chickens reported dead in central Selangor state.

Muhyiddin said almost 4,300 chickens and ducks were culled during the most recent outbreak. No human cases of avian flu were reported.

The World Health Organisation puts the human death toll from bird flu at nearly 200 people since 2003. - AFP/de