Apr 16 2006
According to authorities in Pakistan there has been another outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus on a poultry farm.
The Agriculture Ministry has confirmed that laboratory tests have established the latest case of the bird flu virus has occurred on a chicken farm in Sihala, 15 miles east of Islamabadon.
Health officials have reportedly destroyed 3,600 chickens at the farm and are testing poultry at nearby farms.
To date Pakistan has had no human cases of the disease and no human cases of infection have been reported in or near the infected area.
The latest case is the third outbreak of bird flu in Pakistan,outbreaks occurred at two poultry farms in the Northwest Frontier Province in February.
The World Health Organisation has not yet issued confirmation of the outbreak.
H5N1 bird flu is mutating fast and jumping to mammals - could the next pandemic be here?