Iraq Confirms Human Bird Flu Death
Girl Who Died Is Middle East's First Victim Of Deadly H5N1 Strain
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An Iraqi boy looks at pet birds at a local bird market, Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP)
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Iraqi Minister of Agriculture Ali al-Bahadli gives a press conference following his meeting wtih Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad 30 January 2006. (Getty Images/Ali Al-Saadi)
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WHO doctor Nahoko Shindo, left, shows how to correctly fit a N-95 mask during a training session to doctors of the Van hospital in eastern Turkey, where 4 children have died of bird flu, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006. (AP)
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Turkish doctors ask questions of WHO doctor Nahoko Shindo, right, during a training session at the Van's hospital in eastern Turkey, where 4 children have died of bird flu, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006. (AP)
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Tests were under way to determine if the girl's uncle, who lived in the same house, also died of the virus. He died 10 days later after suffering the same symptoms, officials said.
Iraqi health authorities began killing domestic birds in northern Iraq, which borders Turkey, where at least 21 cases of the deadly virus have been detected. Turkey and Iraq also lie on a migratory path for numerous species of birds.
"We regretfully announce that the first case of bird flu has appeared in Iraq," Iraqi Health Minister Abdel Mutalib Mohammed told reporters in the Kurdistan city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Mohammed made the announcement after receiving results from the U.S. Navy Medical Research Unit laboratory in Egypt that conducted tests on the girl, who died Jan. 17.
"The results show the inflection with the deadly H5N1," he said. "We appeal to the World Health Organization to help us.'
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