Government launches prevention drive in wake of bird flu scare

Emergency measures are being taken in northern Iraq to prevent bird flu, after a scare last week in which a young girl died after a fifteen-day illness. Subsequent tests to determine whether she had the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed 22 people in neighbouring Turkey, however, were negative. Hundreds of chickens and migratory birds have since been burned near the village of Raniya, where the suspected case was initially reported. Some 20 km from the Turkish border, the area lies on a major thoroughfare for migratory birds. “We’re searching in every village and town near the Turkish border for other suspected cases,” said Kurdish Regional Health Minister Mohammed Khashnow. “Chickens in the village of Raniya have been burned and every migratory bird should be killed to provide protection to the locals.” Dick Thompson, spokesperson for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, confirmed that the case had been investigated and that no bird flu was found. “We have analysed the sample and we have totally discounted the possibility of an avian influenza infection,” he noted. “But we can’t take away the possibility of an appearance in Iraq, as many cases have been reported in Turkey.” Examinations of the young girl who died in Raniya confirmed that she had been the victim of a cardiological infection. According to the WHO, avian influenza - known as bird flu - has killed around 80 people in South-East Asia and China since 2003. All of the human deaths, say doctors, were due to contact with contaminated birds. In an effort to stave off the appearance of the disease in Iraq, the national government has been taking precautionary measures since October 2005. Earlier this month, it banned poultry imports from Turkey. On 18 January, after initial reports from Raniya, a state of emergency was declared by the government of northern Iraq. Authorities also acquired two million doses of bird-flu vaccine and 10 tones of disinfectant to treat poultry farms. Vaccines have already started to be used in suspected areas like Raniya, home to some 10,000 people. Every car passing through the area must be disinfected. Abdul Hassan, a senior official in the health ministry, said that a ministry team would be kept in the area to monitor progress. Avian influenza is an infectious disease carried by birds and caused by strains of the influenza virus. While all birds are thought to be susceptible to infection, many wild species carry the virus with no apparent signs of harm, according to the WHO. In 2005, cases of bird flu rose significantly, although the illness remains poorly understood, the WHO website notes. Scientists are increasingly convinced that at least some migratory waterfowl are now carrying the virus in a highly pathogenic form, sometimes over long distances, introducing it to poultry flocks in areas that lie along migratory routes. In 2003, infections of people who had been exposed to sick birds were reported for the first time. “The virus doesn’t jump easily from birds to humans or spread readily among humans,” notes the WHO. But “should H5N1 evolve to a form as contagious as normal influenza, a pandemic could begin”. "Each new human case gives the virus an opportunity to evolve towards a fully transmissible pandemic strain,” notes a 2005 WHO report.