Switzerland awaits bird flu test

Many of Switzerland's neighbours have reported bird flu

Switzerland has confirmed its first case of H5 bird flu and is waiting for test results to see if it is the deadly H5N1 strain, an official has said.

"We have a first case of bird flu. It's H5," federal veterinary spokeswoman Cathy Maret said.

The infected goosander duck was found floating in Lake Geneva.

About 90 people have died from H5N1 since 2003, but there have been no confirmed cases of one person passing bird flu to another.

"We are assuming the worst," Hans Wyss, director of the Switzerland's veterinary office, said in the Swiss capital, Berne.

"We can only make the tests in Switzerland for H5. That's why we've sent [the samples] to the reference laboratory in Britain. It might take several days before the results are known."

Switzerland has been on alert for the arrival of bird flu, which has already been identified in neighbouring France, Germany, Austria and Italy.

Officials said they were particularly concerned that two wild ducks tested positive in the towns of Ohningen and Singen, just over the German border.