BERN: A H5 subtype of bird flu has been found in a dead duck in Geneva, but tests were still pending to determine if it was the deadly H5N1 strain, Switzerland's veterinary office said on Sunday. The veterinary office said a Zurich laboratory would determine by the end of the week whether the dead merganser, a large diving duck, was carrying H5N1. If confirmed, it would be the first case of the virus in Switzerland. Samples were also being sent for confirmation to a European Union reference laboratory in Weybridge, England. Swiss authorities said they were erecting a protective zone around the area where the merganser was found on the shore of lake Geneva. They also said they were establishing a similar zone in northern Switzerland in conjunction with a neighbouring German area set up around the location near Lake Constance where a wild duck carried H5N1. The zones include requirements that domestic birds be kept in quarantine and be watched closely, Swiss authorities said. Strict hygiene measures also were required.