Friday, November 11, 2005
Lethal bird flu found in Kuwait
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Lethal bird flu found in Kuwait
Kuwait has taken precautions at its main bird market
One of the two cases of bird flu recently detected in Kuwait was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, a Kuwaiti official has said.
It is the first confirmed case in the Middle East of the virus that has devastated poultry stocks and killed more than 62 people in Asia.
Tests on a migratory wild flamingo found last week on a Kuwaiti beach showed it had the H5N1 strain.
A falcon found in a shipment at Kuwait Airport had the milder H5N2 strain.
Mohammed al-Mihana, an official at the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources (PAAFR), told the Associated Press that the birds had been destroyed immediately and the virus had not been allowed to spread.
Kuwait and other Middle East states have banned wild bird imports and all poultry from Asian states.
Kuwait has taken precautions at its main bird market
One of the two cases of bird flu recently detected in Kuwait was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, a Kuwaiti official has said.
It is the first confirmed case in the Middle East of the virus that has devastated poultry stocks and killed more than 62 people in Asia.
Tests on a migratory wild flamingo found last week on a Kuwaiti beach showed it had the H5N1 strain.
A falcon found in a shipment at Kuwait Airport had the milder H5N2 strain.
Mohammed al-Mihana, an official at the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources (PAAFR), told the Associated Press that the birds had been destroyed immediately and the virus had not been allowed to spread.
Kuwait and other Middle East states have banned wild bird imports and all poultry from Asian states.
