Karachi H5N1 Confirmed
Recombinomics Commentary 10:23
February 1, 2008
Pakistani authorities on Friday culled thousands of birds to control an outbreak of avian flu at poultry farms in the southern port city of Karachi, an official said. "We have culled 5,500 birds after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of H5N1 virus at a farm in Guddap district," said Ali Akbar, the director of Poultry Research Institute Sindh.
But some media reports recently suggested that the virus had affected several poultry farms. Tens of thousands of birds have died in the last three days and the dead foul are being illegally sold in the city
No human infections have yet been reported in Karachi but health officials were conducting tests of the poultry workers.
The above comments confirm H5N1 near Karachi and suggest the number of dead or dying birds is significantly higher than the 4000 reported earlier. The earlier reports also cited poultry workers with symptoms, although some media reports have printed denials by medical personnel.
The location (see satellite maps here and here), relative to confirmed human cases in northern Pakistan, raises additional concerns about human cases in Pakistan and India, where there are excessive poultry deaths at multiple locations in addition to those in West Bengal.
More detail on excessive poultry deaths and contacts with symptoms would be useful.
Media Links
Recombinomics Presentations
Recombinomics Publications
Recombinomics Paper at Nature Precedings