ROME, March 19 (Reuters) - Scientists are developing portable kits for diagnosing bird flu in poultry, something they say could mean much faster action to stop the spread of the virus.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Monday that experts were already working on a $1,000 test system the size of a small television and hoped to develop an even smaller version they called a "laboratory in a pen".

"The genius here is that such mobile testers can be used by anyone, with the most basic training," said John Crowther who works for a research programme set up by FAO and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Even farmers could do a test and the result could immediately be processed back to a central point, like a mobile phone message. Within two years, such tests could revolutionize disease diagnosis."

Since 2003, the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain has spread to more than 50 countries as far apart as China and Britain. The fear is that the virus could mutate into a form that people can easily pass from one to another and spark a pandemic.

So far it has infected 278 people and killed 168 of them, according to the World Health Organisation. When outbreaks are detected, poultry flocks often have to be destroyed en masse as a precaution against the virus spreading.

The new testing systems are one of the main subjects of discussion at a conference of bird flu experts under way in Verona, Italy.

AlertNet news is provided by