Migrating wild birds could transmit the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu to the United States in the next few months, said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Thursday.

"There will be a reasonable possibility of a domestic fowl outbreak" as migrating birds mix with ducks, chickens and other birds in the U.S., he said, speaking to newspaper editors and publishers.

He said the U.S. Agriculture Department has years of experiencein dealing with infections of other strains of bird flu, and that it is able to tackle situations caused by H5N1, which the World Health Organization said has caused at least 95 human deaths.

Scientists fear the H5N1 strain would mutate quickly to be easily transmissible among humans, leading to a global flu pandemic.

Chertoff said he "certainly have to say that we should be prepared for the possibility that at some point in the next few months, a wild fowl will come over the migratory pathway and will be infected with H5N1."

For months, the Bush administration has been stockpiling vaccines and antiviral drugs, and mobilizing states and local communities in preparation for a possible outbreak among humans.