Pakistan confirms bird flu in Islamabad zoo

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (Reuters) Four peacocks and a goose have died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the only zoo in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, an Agriculture Ministry official said today.

''We conducted tests and they were all positive for H5N1,'' Mohammad Afzal, livestock commissioner at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, told Reuters.

It was the fourth case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu detected in Pakistan this year. The strain was first found in poultry last year and about 40,000 birds were culled.

It reappeared in poultry this month on a small farm near Islamabad.

Authorities had closed down the Marghazar Zoo and health officials were conducting screening tests and taking measures to ensure it did not spread, said a spokesman for the city administration, which runs the zoo.

''The zoo has been closed for the public as a precautionary measure. It will be reopened once all tests are completed,'' said the spokesman, Hayat Khan.

There have been no cases of human infection from the virus in Pakistan. The virus has killed 167 people worldwide since 2003.

REUTERS MS RK1459