Bird flu detected in Afghanistan

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in a fourth province of Afghanistan amid fears of further possible outbreaks of the virus among the country’s destitute communities, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)confirmed on Monday. “According to the test results, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in the eastern Kapisa province,” Assadullah Azhari, FAO’s public information officer, said in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Avian influenza, otherwise known as bird flu, was first confirmed in March from six samples of birds in the capital and the eastern province of Nangarhar. The virus was also detected in central Logar province on 13 April. No human cases have been reported in the impoverished Central Asian state thus far.