Accra, Jul 18 (IANS): More than 10,000 poultry birds have died from the avian flu outbreak reported in Ghana, a senior official said.

Patrick Abekeh, director of the Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), told Xinhua news agency late Saturday that a total of seven farms reported the outbreak from the Greater Accra, Volta, and Central Regions.

"From these seven farms, 5,811 birds died naturally, and the veterinary services department destroyed 4,500 birds. So in all 10,311 birds have so far been lost to the outbreak," Abekeh said.

The destruction of the remaining birds on each of the affected farms, the official explained, was necessary to prevent the spread of the flu to other farms.

"Because of its zoonotic nature, bird flu can affect human beings, including farmhands and all those who come into contact with infected birds," the official said.

He said the authorities would focus on containing and stamping out the disease and fortunately no human infections had yet been recorded.