Gambian authorities have detected the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on a wild bird reserve, a week after neighbouring Senegal reported an outbreak of the disease on a poultry farm.

Samples were collected from Gambia’s Tanji Bird Reserve following reports of unusual deaths among wild birds.

The samples were sent to a laboratory in Dakar on April 1 and tested positive for High Pathogenicity Avian influenza (HPAI) type H5N1, the ministry of agriculture has said. 

The ministry added that it is “closely working together to help reduce the infection pressure at the wild bird level while working… to prevent the spill over to our poultry”.

Neighbouring Senegal is grappling with bird flu after it detected the disease in a farm in the village of Potou not far from the Langue de Barbarie National Park, where an outbreak of HPAI type H5N1 bird flu was found on March 10, according to Reuters. 

The outbreak on the poultry farm in Senegal killed 500 birds, while the remaining animals in the 11,400-strong flock were culled. 

Over 1,700 wild bird deaths have also been recorded in Senegal.

Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has been spreading around the world in the past year, killing more than 200 million birds, sending egg prices rocketing and raising concern among governments about human transmission.