24 April 2006
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representation in Afghanistan received the results of tests on 103 samples which were sent to the OIE/FAO reference laboratory in Padova, Italy, on 6 April 2006, to determine the N subtype.
According to the results, H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) cases have been definitely confirmed in four provinces: Kabul, Logar, Nangarhar and Kapisa.
Two provinces, Laghman and Parwan, are temporarily classified as highly suspected; although consolidated conclusions on the status of these two provinces cannot be determined exactly until further analyses have been performed. Tests are still on-going in Padova and it is planned to send additional samples to the OIE/FAO reference laboratory in Italy.
Based on the currently available data it seems that the disease is slowly spreading (which is consistent with the main type of poultry farming in Afghanistan, 98% of which is in the rural sector). FAO is supporting initiatives to strengthen active surveillance to enable new outbreaks to be identified promptly (reliefweb.int).