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New bird flu outbreak reported in Swabi

Authorities on Sunday reported a new outbreak of avian flu at a commercial poultry farm in the country's north-west, killing thousands of birds, officials said. Tests conducted at a government-run laboratory in Islamabad confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a farm in Swabi district, local livestock department chief Ibrahim Khan told AFP. "The virus was detected after the owner of the farm informed us on Friday that some 4,000 birds had died within the past few days," he said.