NIAMEY (Reuters) - Scientists in Europe have confirmed a new outbreak of deadly H5N1 bird flu in southern Niger, near the border with Africa´s most populous country Nigeria, a senior local government official said on Friday.

Tests carried out in Europe confirmed the presence of H5N1 in samples taken from the village of Boko Mai Gao, around 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Nigeria´s Kano state, said the official, who declined to be named.

The discovery comes three days after Niger, landlocked and among the poorest countries on earth, described its epidemiological situation as "calm".

The H5N1 strain of bird flu was first confirmed in Niger in late February, but it took until April to start culling poultry in the affected areas.

Scientists worry that poor health and veterinary systems in Africa could allow the virus to spread undetected among millions of domestic fowl living in houses and back yards.

Several countries in West Africa, including Niger´s neighbors Nigeria and Burkina Faso, have confirmed outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 bird flu, but so far no cases have been detected among humans.

The only human cases confirmed so far on the African continent have been in Egypt, where six people have died out of 14 known human infections, and one in Djibouti, according to the World Health Organization, which says at least 124 people have been killed around the world since 2003.