Mr He, who is the FAO's Asia-Pacific representative, was speaking after two teams from the agency visited Myanmar to assess the situation.

Mr He said the outbreaks were mainly in the central district of Mandalay and the northern district of Sagaing.

On March 13, Myanmar confirmed its first case of H5N1 since November 2004 and the number subsequently rose to five.

Mr He said Myanmar lacked scientific equipment and facilities to deal with the outbreaks and would need international assistance.

UN bird flu co-ordinator David Nabarro, who is currently visiting South East Asia, said there were major problems in Myanmar.

On March 13, Myanmar told the FAO that it had detected the first outbreak of bird flu in poultry in the central town of Mandalay, 700km (450 miles) north of Rangoon. Five thousand chickens were culled and state media warned people to report suspected infections promptly.

There have been no reported human victims of the virus in Myanmar. More than 100 people around the world have died from the H5N1 strain of the disease since 2003.

BBC