Thursday, February 02, 2006
Avian influenza outbreak in iraq (162 suspected cases)
The Kurdish region in Northern Iraq is reporting 162 suspected cases of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, almost two weeks after a 15-year-old girl died in the same area died of the disease.
Local papers are reporting that the head of the pre-emption committee in the Kurdistan Province Najm Eddin Mohammed announced that 162 people have been admitted to the diagnosis center on suspicion of contracting avian influenza.
Officals are also saying that the avian influenza virus has proliferated throughout Rania, a region southwest of al-Sulaymania on the border with Turkey, and described the influx as a “crisis.”
“The threat (of bird flu) has been confirmed after the virus has been able to cross the province’s borders,” Najm Eddin Mohammed said. Najm Eddin Mohammed also added “Two other citizens have died of the infectious virus while two other cases are in intensive care, in addition to four other cases.”
The virus is believed to have spread from neighboring Turkey, which has seen four deaths and a number of suspected cases so far. On January 17, a 15-year-old villager in Rania died of the avian influenza virus.
The World Health Organization has announced that two suspected cases of avian influenza are currently being investigated in its London laboratory.
The testing of the samples of the young girl’s 33-year-old uncle, who died on January 27 and another 54-year-old woman, who has been admitted to the hospital in northern Iraq after showing flu-like symptoms, is underway.
The health minister in al-Sulaymania, Mohammed Khoshnaw, had earlier confirmed that there are no avian influenza cases in the area, stating that the preemptive measures implemented by the authorities in the city “are capable of preventing the influx or spread of the disease in the province.”
But authorities later retracted their statement, admitting that avian influenza had spread to northern Iraq.