Pakistan has found a fresh outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu in chickens, the fourth case in a month, a government official said on Tuesday. The new outbreak was confirmed on Monday at a poultry farm in Karachi, where the authorities reported two cases early this month, the official said. The last bird flu case was reported on February 16.
"Laboratory tests have confirmed the H5N1 virus on a farm that is located away from populated areas," said Health Ministry spokesman Orya Maqbool Jan Abbasi. Before sending samples to Islamabad, the farm owner had culled chickens and dumped them in a well which, Abbasi said, was in violation of the rules.
"This was wrong," Abbasi said. "Now, we have sprayed the well and closed it." There were about 10,000 birds on the farm, he added. Poultry officials say sporadic outbreaks have badly hit the industry, which is estimated to be worth Rs 200 billion and employs about 1.5 million people.
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