For the first time veterinarians have found avian flu virus A/H5N6 at chicken breeding farms in Vietnam – a strain that claimed human lives in China’s Sichuan province.

The deadly viral strain was detected on a flock of chicken in Lang Son province bordering China, and a flock of ducks in Ha Tinh province, central Vietnam, according to the Animal Health Department.

Genetic sequencing shows that the virus is 99% similar to the A/H5N6 strain reported in Sichuan that killed a Chinese man exposed to dead poultry in April 2014.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that A/H5N6 is a highly pathogenic strain but there’s no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, despite occasional instances of apparent infection between family members.

However, the development of the new strain needs to be put under the microscope to nip in the bud a possible avian flu outbreak in poultry.

The H5N6 strain has been identified in migratory birds in Taiwan, Germany, Sweden and the US. Last month, a poultry sample in Laos also tested positive for the virus, but no more infection case has been reported so far.

The Health Ministry has urged provincial and municipal People’s Committees and Departments for Agriculture and Rural Development to intensify inspection on poultry smuggling and strictly control the import and transport of poultry to effectively prevent any A/H5N6 infection on humans.