Khalil also urged Saudis to refrain from hunting wild birds to prevent a further spread of the potentially deadly virus.

The H5N1 bird flu appeared in 2003 and killed more than 400 people mainly in Southeast Asia.

It first ravaged poultry farms in Hong Kong, before being transmitted to humans. The WHO declared a global health emergency, but the toll remained limited.

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The emergence of a new coronavirus has sparked worldwide panic over the growing risk of animal-linked viruses to human health.



The new virus has killed almost 500 people, inflected more than 24,000 in mainland China and spread to more than 20 countries.



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