New Bird Flu Scare in Iraq
A dozen people feared to have the H5N1 strain of bird flu have been hospitalized in Kurdistan. Meanwhile, Iraqi authorities have begun culling poultry in the region. A team of experts from the World Health Organization is expected to arrive on Wednesday. Two weeks ago, a teenage girl died of the flu in the nearby city of Sulaimaniya after being ill for 15 days.
"We have 12 patients in Sulaimaniya that have lung infections that we suspect may be the bird flu virus," Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Imad Ahmed told Reuters news agency.
The committee set up to fight the spread of the flu virus reported that they have killed a total of 500,000 birds. In some areas, up to 50% of the bird population was slaughtered.
More information can be found from the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4666360.stm