Bird flu in Pakistan seen as a threat

The discovery of bird flu in Pakistan could pave the way for an outbreak of the disease in Afghanistan, which imports a large percentage of its poultry from its southern neighbour, deputy agriculture and livestock minister Sharifullah Sharif said on March 4. The disease, identified in east Asia last year, has spread to some of Afghanistan’s neighbours, including Pakistan. Officials from the agriculture, commerce, health, interior and economy ministries met last week to tackle the issue and prevent the possible outbreak of the disease.