Bird Flu Resurfaces in Afghanistan

[Laidback Al]

H5N1 bird flu found in poultry in eastern Afghanistan, U.N. says

The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghan authorities were culling poultry after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in chicken in an eastern Afghan city, a U.N. official said Wednesday.
Bird flu was reported in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar, said Serge Verniau, the country representative of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Afghanistan.
Samples of chicken in the Nangarhar provincial capital of Jalalabad were found to have the H5N1 strain, while the exact type of the outbreak in Kunar has yet to be confirmed, Verniau said.
Afghanistan reported its first outbreaks of H5N1 in March and April last year in the capital Kabul and the provinces of Kapisa, Logar and Nangarhar. There have been no reported infections of humans.
Bird flu predominantly affects animals, but the H5N1 virus also has made the jump to humans in some countries, killing at least 167 people worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
The latest Afghan outbreak was reported a day after authorities in neighboring Pakistan closed a zoo in the capital Islamabad following lab tests that confirmed H5N1 in its peacocks and geese.
"We do not know whether it is the same strain as the one which appeared in Pakistan," Verniau said.
Afghanistan is a crossroads for migratory birds and there is considerable trade among countries in the region, he said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/21/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-Bird-Flu.php


credits to Alex

 

[Laidback Al]

Afghanistan - H5N1 confirmed in poultry

Afghanistan - H5N1 confirmed in poultry

Bird flu outbreaks confirmed in Afghanistan flocks <!-- END HEADLINE -->
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->Fri Feb 23, 10:41 PM ET


Two outbreaks of bird flu in small flocks in Afghanistan have been identified as the dangerous H5N1 strain, world animal health officials said on Friday.
The World Animal Health Organization or OIE said it had confirmed H5N1 in a flock of backyard poultry in Nangarhar province and in turkeys in Kunar province.
Just last Sunday, Afghanistan banned poultry imports to prevent the spread of the feared virus, which forced the destruction of a flock of turkeys in Britain and killed birds at a zoo in Pakistan.
The H5N1 strain was found in poultry in at least four Afghan provinces last year, leading to the killing of thousands of birds, but there were no human deaths.
Afghanistan imports a large amount of poultry, mostly from Pakistan. The ban imposed last week also applies to other countries hit by H5N1, including Britain, Turkey and Indonesia.
The country lies at the junction of Central and South Asia and is on the migration route for several species of wild birds.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that jumps easily between people and start a global flu pandemic. Although only 274 people are known to have been infected so far worldwide, 167 have died.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070224/hl_nm/birdflu_afghan_dc