AMSTERDAM, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Dutch authorities said on Sunday the bird flu identified at a poultry farm in the country was the highly contagious H5N8 strain first detected in Europe less than two weeks ago.

The strain, which was found at a farm in northeastern Germany on Nov. 4, hit Asia severely, where it led to massive culling of animals in the countries affected.

Though the strain has never been detected in humans, a spokesman for the Dutch government said the variant was lethal to birds and could infect humans who came into very close contact with them. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Mark Potter)

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