KUWAIT, April 22 (Reuters) - Kuwait said on Sunday it has found a new case of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in the south of the Gulf Arab state near the Saudi border.

"We now have 46 infected focal points after the latest finding in an ostrich in Wafra," said health ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Shatti.

"We no longer count individual cases. We concentrate on focal points or areas where the disease has been found like farms, domestic cages or pens," he added.

On April 2, Kuwait said the number of individual birdflu cases found in falcons, chicken and quails was 106.

Kuwait has culled around 1.7 million birds, banned import of live birds, closed down the country's zoo as well as poultry shops in residential areas since the first case was reported this year in February.

Kuwaiti news agency KUNA said earlier in April poultry sales have fallen around 40 percent since the outbreak of the disease.

In 2005, Kuwait reported a case of bird flu in a flamingo.

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