Laotan officials confirm bird flu case

Laotan officials confirm bird flu case

Lao Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalansy confirmed a report on the Web site of the Vientiane Times newspaper that the Lao government's National Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Committee on July 18 had confirmed that the chickens died of bird flu, the AP reports.

The results of laboratory tests to determine whether it was the virulent H5N1 virus were expected in a week or two, he told The Associated Press by phone.

The committee's statement said 2,580 chickens were found dead at the farm in Xaythany district, 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Vientiane, according to the newspaper. It said the same farm experienced a bird flu outbreak in 2004.