New cases of H5N1 noted in Pakistan

Further cases of the H5N1 strain of bird flu were confirmed in the Pakistani capital after dead crows found on the streets tested positive for the virus, a senior official said Thursday.

A month after Islamabad zoo was closed due to an outbreak, the National Laboratory for Avian Influenza found that two of eight tested specimens carried the virus that can mutate and cause illness in humans, said Dr Mohammad Afzal, head of the country's livestock monitoring authority.

"I will say it is the same extension of the outbreak at the zoo that was not 100-per-cent controlled," Afzal told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, adding that the samples were collected from roadsides and a park.

Officials have advised locals to get domestic and pet birds vaccinated in view of widespread backyard poultry farming that is feared to accelerate the spread of H5N1.

About two dozens birds either died or were culled at the city zoo in February to contain the virus that was thought to have emanated from seven donated peacocks. The zoo remained closed for several days during testing and vaccination of other species.

Forty chickens also died of the disease in the capital's twin city of Rawalpindi.

Pakistan suffered a major outbreak of H5N1 one year ago at poultry farms in the North-West Frontier Province, prompting a cull of 40,000 birds.

© 2007 DPA