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Avian flu confirmed in third province
Afghanistan has confirmed the H5N1 bird flu virus in a third province and suspects it has been found in two more, a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation official said yesterday.
Afghanistan confirmed last month the virus had been found in samples from birds in Kabul province, and the eastern province of Nangarhar.
No human cases have been found.
Test results from an FAO laboratory in Italy have confirmed the presence of the virus in birds from Logar province, south of Kabul, said FAO spokesman Assadullah Azahari.
Initial test results also indicated the virus had probably spread to Parwan and Herat provinces, both to the west of Kabul.
?The first results showed H5N1 but we need more tests to confirm that,? Azahari said of the samples from those provinces.
The tests on 103 samples in all found no evidence of H5N1 in Paktia and Kunar provinces in the east, he said. ?Many of the results were negative,? Azahari said.
Poultry has been culled and quarantine measures introduced in effected areas but the spread of the virus among poultry is a big worry in a country where many farmers and traders are illiterate and have little knowledge of the disease.
Authorities have yet to produce much public information on the danger.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that jumps easily between people and starts a global flu pandemic. While only 194 people are known to have been infected so far worldwide, 109 have died.
However, scientists say millions of people could be infected in a human pandemic but with a much lower mortality rate.
Afghanistan?s basic veterinary and health sectors, difficult terrain and an insurgency in some areas are likely to complicate efforts to fight the flu if it spreads to people.
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