HYDERABAD, Jan 29: The Pakistan Poultry Association, Sindh zone, has claimed that H7 and H9 viruses, which were detected in layers in Karachi last year have been totally eliminated.

The office-bearers of the association, Mohammad Farooq, Dr Tariq Iqbal, Dr Mohammad Mohsin and Tariq Aziz, while speaking at a news conference at the press club on Thursday, said even otherwise the viruses were not at all harmful to human health.

They said rumours had all but destroyed the poultry business, which was only second to textile industry in the country. They said the virus had nothing to do with the poultry disease that was detected in Thailand.

They said the flu virus found in poultry farms of Sindh did not enter the human body. They said the disease was found only in egg-laying hens (layers) in the suburbs of Karachi and not in broilers, which was used for human consumption.

They denied that Japan and other countries had stopped the import of broiler meat from Pakistan and added that Japan and other countries did not import poultry from Pakistan. They also denied that Punjabhad stopped importing poultry from Sindh and claimed that contrary to this Sindh imported poultry from Punjab.