Hungary suspects highly pathogenic H5 bird flu

BUDAPEST, June 9 (Reuters) Hungary's Agriculture Ministry said today that it suspects that a bird flu outbreak in domestic poultry is a deadly strain of the H5 virus.

''The suspicion is that it is highly pathogenic H5,'' Deputy Chief Vet Lajos Bognar told a press conference today and ordered the slaughter of 300,000 birds.

It said the outbreak of the virus was found at a farm with more than 3,000 geese.

Bognar said the suspicion did not imply that it was the H5N1 strain of the virus and that tests needed to be conducted at Weybridge in the UK.

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