Iraq declared H5N1-free – ministry

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi agriculture ministry declared the country totally free from avian influenza, an official said on Sunday.“Some mass media relayed news reports about bird flu cases but the issue is very sensitive and deals with a serious disease that destroyed the poultry industry in many countries, including Iraq, as happened in 2006.Accordingly, any misinformation need to be refuted,” said Dr.Salah Fadel, the director of the public veterinary company.He said the reports are altogether bare of truth whether at the level of epidemic survey or field and lab tests.“Some 63.5 million domestic and wild birds were examined but no single case of the avian strain was detected,” said Fadel.Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, refers to influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.Of the greatest concern is highly pathogenic avian influenza.