ISLAMABAD, April 16: The government on Sunday confirmed the presence of the H5N1 bird flu virus in a poultry farm in Sihala near here. This is the second evidence of bird flu after the one reported in February from the NWFP.

“Tests have confirmed the presence of H5N1 at a poultry farm in Sihala and we have culled some 3,500 chickens there”, said Animal Husbandry Commissioner of the federal food ministry, Dr Mohammad Afzal.

The government has declared a red alert.

However, Dr Afzal said, eating chicken was ‘still safe as no case of human contact with the virus has so far been detected’ anywhere in the country.

Tests on samples taken from the small poultry farm in Sihala were conducted at the Reference Laboratory on Bird Flu at the National Agriculture Research Council.

The samples were taken from the farm on Saturday night when the Punjab government reported deaths of chickens there to the federal ministry of food, agriculture and livestock.

The ministry then collected blood samples from the farm for serological testing that confirmed the presence of H5N1 strain.

Answering a question, Mr Afzal said he was not sure whether the government would send the samples to an international laboratory for reconfirmation as it had done when the virus was found to have attacked chickens at two farms in the NWFP.

Meanwhile, former president of the Pakistan Poultry Association, Dr Mohammad Aslam, has sought support of the government and people in ‘saving the poultry industry’ from collapse.

“We cannot close our eyes to a danger that is lurking at our doors. Bird Flu is now a fact, but people should also keep in mind that so far no case of human contact has been detected in Pakistan,” he said.

“It is safe to eat chickens keeping in view our cooking habits,” he expressed the opinion.

He criticised the government for failing to prepare bird flu vaccine in the country despite a call from the poultry association to use the Veterinary Research Institute in Lahore for the purpose.

“If vaccines are available, bird flu can be eliminated from the country in five to six months,” he said.