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PAKISTAN confirmed that a man who worked on a poultry farm with infected birds has become the country's first death from the bird flu virus.One of the man's brothers also died but he was not tested for the virus, the health ministry said in a statement. It did not say why the second man was not tested.Six people were confirmed to have been infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, all of them in North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan, the ministry said."Five of them have fully recovered. One of the confirmed cases died in hospital while his brother, who could not be tested, has also died," it said.A spokesman said that the confirmed victim, Muhammad Tariq, had been involved in a cull of birds at an infected poultry farm in late October.Three of his brothers were also admitted to hospital and one, named Mohammad Illyas, also died. "We are not certain how Illyas died because we could not conduct his testing," the spokesman said.Hospital officials in the provincial capital of Peshawar said that Mr Tariq died late last month, a few days before his brother, who was admitted with similar symptoms but was not tested for the virus.The virus is usually transmitted to humans from infected birds but scientists fear it could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, sparking a global pandemic that could kill millions.As in the days of Noah....
