KABUL, Nov 10: Afghanistan has banned duck hunting and imports of live poultry to prevent the spread of the deadly bird flu virus, Public Health Minister Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatemi said on Thursday.

The restrictions are being announced in government media and by preachers in mosques across the country, Mr Fatemi said.

“No sign of the deadly bird flu like H5N1 has been witnessed in Afghanistan so far,” Mr Fatemi said. “These limitations are mostly aimed at stopping the virus flow.”

Afghanistan is a stop for birds during their annual migration from Siberia to the warm waters of the Sub-continent and vice versa.

At the lake resort of Qargha, a stopover for migrating ducks, hunting was going on despite the ban.

Two hunters there said they were not aware of the ban and planned to continue regardless.

“God protects us. We are not worried,” one said while aiming with his shotgun at ducks on the lake to the west of Kabul.

The war-ravaged country has minimal health services and Mr Fatemi said it relies on the World Health Organisation for diagnosis of any possible sign of bird flu.

Mr Fatemi said there was less chance of bird flu in Afghanistan as it was a Muslim country where people do not keep or eat pork.

Health experts say pigs can carry human flu viruses, which can combine with the avian viruses, swap genes and create virulent new strains. —Reuters