The Ukrainian Health Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the latest outbreak of bird flu on the Crimea Peninsula was due to the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.

The ministry said in a statement that the H5N1 strain was confirmed through lab tests in 11 Crimean villages where dead birds were found.

However, the statement did not give information about where thetests had been conducted.

The government reportedly sent samples of the virus to Russia and Britain after the first case of bird flu was detected on the Crimean Peninsula on Dec. 4.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu was believed to be able to trigger a human flu pandemic if it mutates into a form that can easily spread between humans. At least 69 people have been killed by the virus since 2003.