Prague, May 4 (IANS): Firefighters and veterinarians in the Czech Republic have started culling almost 15,000 turkeys at a farm in the country's northeastern region, due to a fresh outbreak of bird flu.

The commercial turkey farm in the town of Rychvald has already killed almost 250 turkeys out of a total of 15,192, according to the State Veterinary Administration (SVS).

An examination of samples taken by veterinary inspectors from the farm "confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N1 subtype", the SVS said, adding that all the remaining poultry must also be culled, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to local media reports, the culling of the 15,000 birds will take two days.

The SVS also said there are two other turkey breeding farms in the vicinity of the affected farm, and it has taken preliminary veterinary measures to contain further infection.

Since the beginning of this year, the Czech Republic has reported 21 outbreaks of bird flu, according to the SVS.

In early January, the veterinary authorities ordered the culling of 750,000 chickens at a poultry farm in the Western Plzen region, in one of the largest bird flu outbreaks in the country.