Afganistan chimes in with bird flu case

H5N1 bird flu confirmed in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The presence of the deadly strain of bird flu in eastern Nangarhar province has been confirmed by Afghanistan's Health Ministry.

Voice of America reported Saturday that the H5N1 strain of the avian virus was confirmed on Friday by Health Ministry Deputy Faizullah Kakar.

VOA said a team of doctors had initially suspected that the virus had made its way to a human, however, it was found that the patient was actually suffering from malaria.

Earlier this week, Afghan authorities ordered the slaughter of birds in the Nangarhar and Kunar provinces after suspecting an outbreak of bird flu. There was another outbreak of the virus in Afghanistan last year that was confined to birds.

The deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has killed about 160 humans worldwide since 2003.

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