Cote d'Ivoire began slaughtering poultry in the Abidjan markets on Sunday after the deadly H5N1 bird flu was confirmed in the west African country.

The state television broadcast footage of the economic capital's Marcory and Treichville markets culling and incinerating poultry, with cages being disinfected.

The massive slaughter came after neighboring Ghana on Wednesday banned the importation of live birds, poultry and poultry products as well as poultry feed from Cote d'Ivoire, which on the same day confirmed several outbreaks in wild birds and poultry.

Cote d'Ivoire also vowed to quarantine the infected area and restrict poultry movements in the country, after the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health announced last week that it had detected the first bird flu case in Abidjan.

Cote d'Ivoire was among the seven African nations, mostly in the western part of the continent, to have reported the disease. Since it hit Nigeria on Feb. 8, Egypt, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Sudan have also found the outbreaks.

H5N1, a highly pathogenic strain, causes widespread fatality of poultry and serious economic damage. It can also be transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected live poultry. Since late 2003, the H5N1 virus has caused more than 100 human deaths, mainly in Asia.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2006)