November 14, 2005

Kuwait says 1 of 2 birds tested had H5N1 strain

One of two birds found infected with bird flu in Kuwait had the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus that has devastated poultry stocks and killed more than 60 people in Asia, an agricultural official said Friday.

Mohammed al-Mihana, of the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fisheries, told The Associated Press further tests on samples from the birds showed the migrating flamingo found on a Kuwait beach had the H5N1 strain, while a second, imported bird had the milder H5N2 variant.

He said the imported bird, quarantined at the airport, was a falcon.