February 26, 2006	Sunday	Muharram 27, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 25: The government on Saturday dispelled an impression in the media that there were no laboratory facilities to carry out bird flu tests in the country.

A spokesman for the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock said here that the National Reference Laboratory for bird flu had been established at the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) in the federal capital. This laboratory has facilities for serological and molecular diagnosis and virus isolation and characterisation, he said.

The spokesman said that “baseless” media reports had sensationalised the bird flu issue despite repeated statements of the government that Pakistan was free from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

He said the government was carefully monitoring the situation.

“Any irresponsible reporting at this stage will spread fear among the countrymen and damage the poultry industry of the country,” he said.

The National Reference Laboratory is recognised as a hub lab for Saarc countries by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Two weeks ago, a group of scientists from Saarc member countries and Afghanistan, was trained for diagnosis of bird flu at the NARC.