KARACHI, Feb 15: The dead crows whose samples were collected a week ago from the area close to the poultry farms hit by the bird flu virus in Gadap have been tested negative for H5N1, said an official of the Sindh livestock department on Friday night.

The crows’ death sparked fears of the spread of the bird flu virus.

The Poultry Research Officer of the Sindh livestock department, Dr Aslam Jalali, told Dawn that the samples had been sent to the national reference laboratory in Islamabad. He said he had been told that the dead birds had been tested negative for H5N1.

However, the samples of the dead crows sent to the Sindh government poultry research institute laboratory were found positive for the Newcastle disease virus, he added.