Monday, February 20, 2006
Bulgarian woman dies of suspected bird flu
Bulgarian authorities are reporting that a 27-year-old woman who was hospitalized in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv has died after showing symptoms of avian influenza.
Doctor Mariana Stoicheva was stated as saying that the woman was admitted last Friday with severe bilateral pneumonia and breathing difficulties.
Doctor Stoicheva also stated that the woman had worked in a local minced chicken factory, prompting the hospital to treat her as a suspicious avian influenza infected patient.
Initial tests to detect the fatal H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus were immediately carried out and the results were negative, Stoicheva said. However, the samples have been sent to the laboratory in Sofia for confirmation, and the result is expected on Feb. 22.
If tests are shown to be positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, it would be the first human case in Bulgaria.