ISLAMABAD, April 18: Two persons, including a minor, suspected of suffering from bird flu were brought from Sihala to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) here on Wednesday, sources told Dawn.

The sources said Fazilat Bibi, 24, and Mohammad Zahid, 4, were brought to the Pims from National Institute of Health having symptoms of bird flu.

Meanwhile, Halima Bibi, 8, Saad Wali, 22 and Khadeja Bibi were discharged from the Pims on Wednesday after they tested negative for the avian flu.

Meanwhile, the test reports of four persons brought earlier to Pims from the bird flu-affected area of Sihala showed no evidence of avian influenza.

According to a statement issued here on Wednesday, a joint team of the Ministry of Health, National Institute of Health, World Health Organization and the District Health Department, Islamabad, collected blood samples and throat and nasal swabs of four persons from the bird flu-affected area of Sihala on April 15 for necessary laboratory tests.

According to the reports of the NIH all samples had proved negative and the persons brought to the hospital were declared normal.

The specimens were processed according to the WHO/NAMRU algorithms for detection of H5N1, the deadly strain, in the virology department of PHLD of the NIH.

The Ministry of Health and the NIH are continuously monitoring the residents of the flue-affected area and suspected cases will continue to be tested by the NIH.