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Erbil, Kurdistan
(Iraq) 28 Oct. (AKI) - Veterinary authorities
in Erbil have confirmed the first case of avian flu
in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the border with Turkey.
The head of the Erbil veterinary laboratory, Ilham
Butros, told journalists that preliminary positive
analysis done locally on suspect birds had been
confirmed by a dedicated bird-flu testing lab in
Egypt. Iraq on Thursday announced a ban on poultry
imports from 20 countries, amid fears that the
deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, found in
neighbouring Turkey, might endanger the country.
Regarding the suspect bird deaths, Butros said.
"When we received news of deaths of chickens in a
poultry farm near Khabat [30 kilometres west of
Erbil] a team of experts visited the property to
collect samples, and the preliminary analyses gave a
positive result to the [bird flu] virus.
"Given the lack of specific labs for bird flu
diagnosis in the region we sent the samples to Cairo
for further testing which confirmed definitively the
initial results" she added.
The local Kurdish language paper, Aso, on Thursday
broke the story of the discovery of the virus in the
region.
"Our personnel, along with American hygiene squads,
are making every effort to inspect poultry farms in
the region" Butros added, "to check out many
reported deaths establish the cause and draw up
health plans to deal with possible future cases."
Erbil is the first Iraqi city in which the virus has
been detected. It lies close to the border with
Turkey, which on October 8 reported its first case
of avian flu.
On Thursday, the Baghdad government announced the
"banning of poultry imports, live or slaughtered,"
from some 20 countries.
These include Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, China,
Russia, Turkey, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam,
Greece, Ukraine, Romania and Croatia.
The H5N1 strain of avian flu has killed more than 60
people in four countries in Asia and has been
detected among birds in Croatia, Romania, Turkey and
Russia. No human cases have been reported in Europe,
though there is growing concern that the virus may
merge with a human influenza virus and be
transmitted between humans.
Middle Eastern nations are especially worried as
many of them lie on wild bird migration routes.
www.adnki.com
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