Bird flu epidemic in Pakistan since November

Pakistani agricultural researchers have confirmed that a disease that has killed up to 4 million chickens in the country's south since November was a strain of bird flu.

A government handout issued to poultry breeders in southern Sindh province identified the disease as avian influenza H-7 and H-9.

Veterinary doctor Jawad Zaheer told a French press agency: "The outbreak of the avian flu in Karachi has been established through various laboratory tests. A polymerized chain reaction (PCR) test has also confirmed the prevalence".

Zaheer is a researcher at Quality Breeders in Islamabad.