KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia announced its second outbreak of deadly bird flu in three weeks Monday, the latest near a northern village close to the border with Thailand where the disease was first detected.

The Veterinary Department said that lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza was believed to be the cause of the deaths of 10 chickens and 20 quail in Kampung Belian, a village three miles from the outbreak announced Aug. 17.

The discovery dashed plans to declare Malaysia free of the disease, which has caused massive losses among poultry farmers due to import bans by the European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines.

Hawari Hussein, director-general of veterinary services, told a news conference that the dead chickens and quails were recovered by inspection teams Friday and that tests showed H5N1 was the likely culprit.

"The infection is still within the 10-kilometer radius and within the 21-day quarantine period," Hawari said. "Therefore, we regard this as an isolated case."

The owner of the chickens has been screened and is healthy, Hawari said.

The discovery means that teams will cull 1,200 chickens, ducks and birds with a one-kilometer of the village by Tuesday night to stop it from spreading, Hawari said.

A fresh 21-day quarantine on the area has been imposed, and Malaysia cannot be declared free of the disease until the time elapses and no new cases are discovered.

Malaysia´s first outbreak was discovered in fighting cocks in the village of Pasir Pekan. A six-mile quarantine was thrown up and half a dozen people hospitalized. None tested positive.

Chickens and pet birds in the area were slaughtered and inspections stepped up at thousands of poultry farms nationwide.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been blamed for the deaths of at least 27 people this year in Vietnam and Thailand, and Asia has sought for months to stop it from spreading.

About 100 million chickens have perished or were slaughtered in government-ordered culls, but the World Health Organization says that H5N1 appears to be entrenched and flare-ups can be expected regularly.