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| Bird flu in Pakistan was a hoax: BABA |
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
By our correspondent
Karachi
The Birds and Animals Business Association (BABA) alleged that at the end of 2003, certain vaccine-producing multinationals spread rumours about the outbreak of bird flu, Avian Influenza, in the poultry industry of many countries around the world. They spent millions of dollars on propaganda (mostly in third-world countries), trying to prove that the very strain of bird flu called H5N1 was transferable to human beings.
For almost five years of their propaganda campaign, they tried to link the death of almost 200 people (mostly related to the poultry industry) with bird flu, whereas the actual cause of their deaths could not be ascertained.
The association said that most countries affected by the propaganda have managed to free themselves of the ban but Pakistan is still giving ‘due consideration’ to this issue.
The association also added that when the matter was taken up with the Animal Husbandry Commissioner, MINFAL, a letter was finally issued — dated December 30, 2004 — to certain countries confirming that there was outbreak of H7 and H9 (low pathogenic strain of Avian Influenza) in Karachi, however no strain of H5N1 was found.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
