BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union mulled a ban on the import of live wild birds after a parrot in Britain died of a virulent strain of avian flu that might one day spread to humans. 

Britain called for the ban after the H5N1 strain killed the south American parrot that was held in quarantine with birds from Taiwan, all of which were culled. 

"The closest match is to a strain found in ducks in China earlier this year," an Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman said after tests confirmed H5N1 on Sunday. 

The chief veterinary official said the finding did not affect Britain's "avian influenza disease-free status".   

In Brussels, a spokesman for the European Commission said the EU administration would rule on a ban after EU farm ministers and the bloc's food security committee discuss it. 

"The Commission is currently reviewing the proposal and will take a decision shortly, by Tuesday at the latest," he said. 

H5N1 has spread since it surfaced two years ago in South Korea. Wild birds have brought it this autumn to Europe's flank, with cases confirmed in Russia, Turkey and Romania, whose Danube delta is a haven for migrating fowl. 

Dead swans found at a Croatian pond -- where a cull was in full swing this weekend -- are also being checked, as are birds from Greece and Macedonia further south in the Balkans. 

Less virulent bird flu is common but H5N1 kills a high proportion of birds that catch it and has so far claimed over 60 human lives in Asia, most of them in Vietnam and Thailand. 

Now endemic in poultry across much of Asia, it can be caught by people after prolonged and close contact with infected birds. 

Scientists fear it may mix with a human flu strain, pass between people and trigger a lethal pandemic around the world. 

China will seal its borders, whatever the economic cost, if it finds a single case of human-to-human transmission there, the South China Morning Post newspaper quoted an official as saying. 

Russia said it had found more bird flu in the Urals and was investigating a suspected outbreak close to the Kazakh border. 

MIGRATION  Wild birds are carrying H5N1 as they fly south for winter and many countries have already taken steps to stop them mixing with domestic fowl. 

Some, where H5N1 is confirmed, have followed the lead shown by South Korea in 2003 and started vast culls of domestic fowl. 

Others, seeking to prevent contagion, have banned imports from suspect areas, prohibited live-bird markets, ordered fowl kept indoors for now, and stockpiled Tamiflu, an antiviral drug that could help stem infection depending on how H5N1 may mutate in humans. 

In the Gulf, Abu Dhabi urged owners to cull their home-raised poultry to prevent an outbreak of bird flu. 

But the parrot's death highlighted another possible route for transmission -- wild birds traded as pets. 

"The EU is the world's biggest importer of wild birds," said German charity Pro Wildlife, one of numerous organisations that have long sought a ban on the trade on animal welfare grounds. 

Germany backs a worldwide ban -- now, only birds from flu-stricken areas are barred -- and now Britain has followed suit. Junior environment minister Ben Bradshaw said he expected EU partners to agree.  "There would be considerable support throughout the EU," he said. Some EU officials fear a ban will drive the thriving trade underground and create a hard to police black market. 

CHECKS IN MALTA, ALL-CLEAR IN SWEDEN  Maltese officials sealed a ship after dead birds were found on board. State television said the Limassol-registered Nordsuk ship had come from Taiwan. 

After a weekend scare in Sweden when a string of dead ducks were found, authorities said none had been infected with H5N1. 

The board of agriculture pointed out a quarter of wild ducks carry a milder form of influenza virus at this time of year. 

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche AG has come under pressure to pump up output of Tamiflu, but an impatient Taiwan said -- patent or not -- it was ready to start making its own version. 

As migrating birds head further south, eastern Africa is seen as the next area at high risk.