KABUL (AFX) - The government ordered an immediate slaughter of chickens in
affected areas after tests confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 bird flu
strain there, officials said.
    Bird flu "remains confined to the bird population, with no human cases
reported. Nonetheless, it is imperative that the human population is protected,"
the government and the United Nations said in a statement.
    The samples were from the capital Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad,
near the border with Pakistan. They were tested at the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization's laboratories in the Italian city of Padua.
    Birds from the affected areas will be slaughtered immediately and measures
to compensate farmers are in place, the statement said. 
    "Markets selling poultry and poultry products will be closed and
disinfected," it said.
    The FAO has said the flu could be particularly hard for destitute
Afghanistan as its public veterinary services are still weak after more than 20
years of war which ended four years ago.
    About 85 pct of the population live in close contact with poultry, with most
rural families having several chickens in the backyard.
       br/dk/ag/net