Kabul, Afghanista ? Lab tests have confirmed the first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Afghanistan, the government said Thursday. Sweden also announced an outbreak of the virulent virus after two wild birds were found to be infected.

In India, health workers slaughtered thousands of chickens Thursday in dozens of villages to contain the country’s second bird flu outbreak, a senior official said. The culling was to be completed today.

A joint U.N.-Afghan statement said samples taken from six birds in the capital, Kabul, and the eastern city of Jalalabad tested positive for the virus, raising concern about how the impoverished Central Asian nation’s government will deal with the disease, which has ravaged poultry populations across the globe and killed at least 98 people.

“The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has today been confirmed in Afghanistan in six samples,” the statement said. “Thus far in Afghanistan, avian influenza remains confined to the bird population, with no human cases reported. It is imperative that the human population is protected.”

The government already has sought international aid to buy protective clothing for its staff, as well as chemical disinfectant and vaccines. Afghanistan’s public veterinary system is weak and no quarantine system exists to check imported poultry at borders.

Bird culling will begin in affected areas, markets selling poultry will be closed and disinfected, and a public awareness campaign will be launched to teach people about the dangers of the virus, the statement said.

Afghanistan lies at a crossroads for migratory birds, and its neighbors, including Iran and India, already have detected outbreaks of the virus, which has killed or forced the slaughter of millions of chickens and ducks across Asia since 2003.

The disease also has spread to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.