Pakistan says it has slaughtered more than 40,000 chickens following a new outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at several poultry farms near Islamabad.
A spokesman for the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry says test results confirmed the presence of the avian flu at at least eight poultry farms around the capital.
Pakistani officials confirmed the first outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the northwest of the country last month. So far, there have been no reported cases of human infections.
Other countries bordering Pakistan - Iran, India and Afghanistan - have also reported cases of bird flu.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP,and Reuters.