Kuwait has culled two birds infected with avian flu but the strain of the virus is weaker than the one which has killed more than 60 people in Asia, officials said on Thursday.

They said the birds were carrying the H5N2 form of bird flu. The strain is dangerous to birds but less virulent than the H5N1 strain responsible for the deaths in Asia and which has sparked fears of a global pandemic in which millions could die.

"The expertise of our authorities have prevented two incidents (of bird flu) in Kuwait," said Sheikh Fahd al-Salem al Sabah, head of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs.

"The problem was dealt with immediately and it was not allowed to spread," he told reporters.

Sheikh Fahd then told Reuters one case was discovered a few weeks ago at Kuwait airport in a shipment of exotic birds imported from Asia. "The whole shipment was culled," he added.

Agriculture inspectors found the second infected bird, a migratory flamingo, a few days ago on Kuwait´s southern coast, Sheikh Fahd added.

"The strain was H5N2 which is less harmful than H5N1," said Mohammad Muhanna, deputy head of animal resources department at the agriculture authority.

Gulf states, on high alert for the disease, have banned shipments of live poultry and birds from Asia and other countries affected by the deadly strain of bird flu.

Sheikh Fahd said all humans that handled or potentially came in contact with the diseased birds were tested for bird flu.

"Thank God all these tests were okay," he said.

Bird flu is split into strains such as H5 and H7, which in turn have nine different subtypes such as as H5N2. H5N1 is highly pathogenic and can be passed from birds to humans, although there have been no cases of human to human transmission.

Health experts expect migratory birds to carry H5N1 to the Middle East and Africa after it was recently found in birds in eastern Europe.

Experts fear H5N1 could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, just like human influenza. If it does, millions could die because they would have no immunity. (Additional reporting by Oussama Mohammad)