Bird flu feared to have spread beyond single Malaysian state.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 24 Kyodo

Five Malaysian naval personnel have been hospitalized with suspected bird flu, sparking concern that the deadly disease has spread outside the northeastern state of Kelantan for the first time since it appeared five weeks ago.

The Health Department's director of disease control, Ramlee Rahmat, said the five came down with flu-like symptoms while on a sojourn on the Layang-Layang island off Sabah state on the island of Borneo.

Precautions were taken as they had come in contact with some dead swallows while patrolling the island that is near the Spratly Islands.

Ramlee said the five are already recovering at a government hospital in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah.

Veterinary Services Department chief Hawari Hussein said his office is still waiting for the samples to arrive to be tested for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus that has struck Kelantan state near the Thai border.

Until it can be confirmed to be bird flu, the island, a diving haven, will not be quarantined, he told Kyodo News.

The government has already imposed a state-wide quarantine on Kelantan since the disease was first discovered in mid-August.

It has implemented the culling of more than 7,000 chickens, ducks and pet birds, and set up round-the-clock road-blocks and border patrols to prevent poultry from being brought in or out of the state after the virus began to spread, hitting 11 villages.

Malaysia has blamed the outbreak in Kelantan on contaminated birds smuggled in from across the border with Thailand, which is one of the worst-hit countries.

Authorities from the two countries met earlier this week and pledged to boost security along the border to check the spread.