Pakistan Friday imposed a ban on chicken dishes in the menu of the Aiwan-e-Sadar, President's House, and important state functions.
Health Minister Naseer Khan told the National Assembly that chicken dishes have been excluded from the menu of Aiwan-e-Sadr and important celebrations where foreigners and diplomats are invited. This is part of precautionary measures against possible outbreak of bird flu, he said in a reply to a question.Over 85 chicken samples taken from various places were tested and not a single sample had tested positive, Khan said.
A few weeks back, Pakistan confirmed an H5N1 outbreak at a chicken farm near Islamabad. Its first two bird flu cases were confirmed last month at two chicken farms in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan.
No human case has been reported.
The H5N1 strain has killed about 100 people in seven countries since 2003. Scientists fear a global pandemic if the virus mutates and becomes easily transmissible between humans.
--Edited IANS
