Pakistan reports fourth February bird flu outbreak

Pakistani authorities have found a fresh outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu in chickens, the fourth case in a month in the South Asian country, a government official said on Tuesday.

The new outbreak was confirmed on Monday at a poultry farm in Karachi, the country's biggest city and where authorities reported two cases early this month, the official said.

The last bird flu case was reported in a northwestern town on Feb. 16.

"Laboratory tests have confirmed the H5N1 virus on a farm that is located away from populated areas," said health ministry spokesman Orya Maqbool Jan Abbasi.

Before sending samples to Islamabad, the farm owner had culled chickens and dumped them in a well which, Abbasi said, was in violation of the rules.

"This was wrong," Abbasi said. "Now, we have sprayed the well and closed it."