Bird flu appears in Iraq

Iraqi Health Minister Abdul Mutalib Ali Mohammed said a 15-year-old girl who died two weeks ago in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah was infected with bird flu.

Iraqi staff collected chickens and ducks to bring them to destruction.(Photo: AFP / VNE)

Initial testing by the World Health Organization showed that the girl was not infected. But the next Iraqi test was positive for the H5N1 virus. WHO said it would continue further testing in the UK.

The girl named Shangen Abdul Qader died after experiencing typical respiratory symptoms of the disease that killed at least 85 people since 2003.

Yesterday, Iraqi officials said 12 people were suspected of being infected with other bird flu being treated in Kurdistan, northern Iraq. A 54-year-old woman in Raniya town is the most serious case .

A council has been established to prevent outbreaks of avian influenza virus. They began destroying poultry in the Sulaimaniya northern areas near Lake Dukan, in Raniya and north Arbil. WHO will also send a team of experts today. Raniya is located near the Turkish border, where four people have died from bird flu.

No cases of bird flu have been detected in poultry flocks in Iraq, but all deaths so far have been attributed to contact with infected birds.

MT (by BBC, Washingtonpost)