Kuwait has culled two birds infected with avian flu, but the strain of the virus is weaker than the one which has killed more than 60 people in Asia, officials said today.
They said the birds were carrying the H5N2 form of bird flu. The strain is dangerous to birds but less virulent than the H5N1 strain responsible for the deaths in Asia and that has sparked fears of a global pandemic.
Sheikh Fahd al-Salem al Sabah, head of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs, told reporters one case was discovered a few weeks ago at Kuwait airport in a shipment of exotic birds imported from Asia. "The whole shipment was culled," he added.
Agriculture inspectors found the second infected bird, a migratory flamingo, a few days ago on Kuwait's southern coast.
Gulf states, on high alert for the disease, have banned shipments of live poultry and birds from Asia and other countries affected by the deadly strain of bird flu. Sheikh Fahd said all humans that handled or potentially came in contact with the diseased birds were tested for bird flu.
Health experts expect migratory birds to carry H5N1 to the Middle East and Africa after it was recently found in birds in eastern Europe. Experts fear H5N1 could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, just like human influenza. If it does, millions could die because they would have no immunity.