HANOI, Feb. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- No H5N1 virus has been found in pigs in Vietnam, a local official told Xinhua Friday.

    Samples taken from pigs in Vietnam tested negative to the virus in labs in Hong Kong, said Bui Quang Anh, director of Vietnam's Central Veterinarian Department.

¡¡¡¡"We don't know why the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) made such a statement," he said.

    The UN agency said on Friday that H5N1 has been found in the nasal swabs taken from pigs in Vietnam, but it does not mean that the pigs have contracted the virus.

    Blood samples taken from the pigs are being tested, the organization said, without specifying which laboratories were conducting the tests. Enditem

H5N1 found in pigs in Vietnam: FAO

    HANOI, Feb. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Trace of H5N1 has been detected in several pigs in Vietnam, said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday.

    "Nasal swabs taken from pigs have been positive for H5N1. But, it does not mean that the pigs are infected with the virus," Anton Rychener, head of the FAO in Vietnam, told Xinhua.

    Testing of blood samples is underway, he said. However, Vietnam' s Central Veterinarian Department has yet to react to FAO's statement.

    Earlier, many local experts warned that H5N1 could jump from infected chickens to other animals like pigs before passing to humans. Enditem