The west African nation of Ghana is reporting its second outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

Ghanian veterinary officials say the outbreak occurred at a farm near the town of Sunyani, about 400 kilometers north of the capital, Accra. The officials say thousands of birds have been destroyed in an effort to prevent the disease from spreading.

Ghana's first case of H5N1 was reported earlier this month near the port city of Tema.

Several West African countries have reported cases of H5N1 in poultry. Nigeria is the only country in the region to report a human death from the disease.

The World Health Organization says bird flu has killed 185 people since late 2003, most of them in Asia.

It is a virus that mainly affects poultry, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person and could set off a deadly epidemic.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.