Ethiopia said Tuesday it incinerated all the chickens in a farm where preliminary tests on dead poultry revealed a bird flu-like infection.
"The 9,000 chickens have now been totally destroyed and incinerated," said Selashi Zewde, head of the Veterinary Department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
"We are collecting samples on chickens living around the farm where the 6,000 chickens died to undergo further investigation," Selashi added.
The measure was in line with preventive measures following the death of more than 6,000 chickens since mid February at the Gubre Poultry Farm, some 188 km south of the capital Addis Ababa.
The ministry said the chickens had died of avian flu, but could not confirm whether it was due to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain.
Further virology tests are to be conducted in Italy, it said.
Ethiopia, along with other east African Rift Valley nations such as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, are considered at high risk for the spread of the virus as millions of migratory birds flock there during the European winter.
Nigeria was the first African country in which World Organization for Animal Health confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, and neighboring Niger became the third nation following Egypt to be hit by the threatening virus.
The presence of the virus has been confirmed in 40 countries throughout the world, and the virus has reportedly caused 90 human deaths since 2003. No human victims have been reported so far in Africa.