April 17, 2006

Pakistan confirms second H5N1 outbreak near Islamabad

A second outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was confirmed Sunday (Apr 16) at a poultry farm near Islamabad, a Pakistani official said.

Laboratory tests of samples from the small farm in Sihala, a village about 25 kilometres east of Islamabad, confirmed the H5N1 strain, said Mohammed Afzal, spokesman for the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock.

About 3,500 chickens at the farm were killed, and officials from the ministry are taking samples from nearby farms to check for the disease, Afzal said.

Last month, the ministry confirmed the H5N1 strain in two farms in north-western Pakistan.