Kuwait reports 20 cases of bird flu at zoo, farm

KUWAIT, Feb 26 (Reuters) Kuwait's Health Ministry today confirmed outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, potentially fatal to humans, at a zoo and a farm in the south of the country, the first in two years.

''Kuwait banned yesterday the entry of live birds after the discovery of the H5N1 virus,'' Ahmed Al-Shattil, a health ministry official, said.

''The public authority for food and agriculture conducted tests on falcons in the Wafra region and at the Kuwait Zoo, they found 20 infected with the virus,'' he said. Wafra is a farming area south of the capital.

He said samples were sent to London for further checks and 20 cases tested positive for the virus.

Kuwait closed the bird section of the zoo, he said.

Kuwait reported a case of the deadly virus in a flamingo in 2005.

REUTERS PB VC1642