An anti-smuggling task force raided a Manila warehouse last week and seized thousands of frozen Peking ducks that slipped into the country without veterinary inspection, said Antonio Villar, the task force chief.

'The public health is at stake here,' he said.

'The seized Peking ducks were taken out of the customs bureau without one of its officials knowing it,' Mr Villar told reporters.

Government inspectors are now checking Peking duck larders in some Manila restaurants serving this exotic meat, he added.

According to Michael Exequiel Guillermo, vice-president of the EJG Mighty Duck Farm, the country's sole authorised supplier of Peking ducks, the seized poultry was most probably smuggled into the Philippines and had not been checked by authorities from their country of origin.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu, that is transmitted from birds to humans, has killed more than 200 people worldwide since late 2003 through contact with infected birds.

The deadly strain of the virus has not been detected in the Philippines but authorities have been on alert that travellers, imports or even migrating birds might bring it into the country.

Health experts fear the strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic. -- AFP