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SULAIMANIYAH,
Kurdistan-Iraq, Jan 30, 2006 (AFP) - 10h45 - Iraq
has called on the World Health Organisation to check
the possible spread of avian flu in the country's
Kurdish region where 12 people have been quarantined
and a cull of birds is under way.
"We call on the World Health Organization to send
experts to confirm that Kurdistan is free of bird
flu," said Imad Ahmed, deputy prime minister of
Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq.
Ahmed said 12 people had been quarantined after they
fell ill with pneumonia, but could possibly be
infected with the fatal H5N1 strain of bird flu
which has killed 80 people worldwide since 2003.
Iraq's Kurdish provinces, which lie on the border
with Turkey, are a major poultry producing region
supplying chicken and eggs for much of the entire
country.
Two people died in Kurdistan with flu-like symptoms
earlier this month.
The first, a teenage girl, was proved not to have
H5N1 when samples were sent to the WHO laboratory in
Amman. Samples from the second case, the girl's
uncle who died after suffering a pulmonary
infection, are still being tested in Amman.
Another suspected case is 54-year-old Mariam Qadar,
who hails from the same region as the two fatalities
and was taken to hospital in Sulaimaniyah by her
family on Wednesday.
"The analysis so far has not confirmed if she has
the disease, but there is a suspicion," hospital
director Shirku Abdallah told AFP.
Health Minister Abdel Mutalib Mohammed Ali headed to
Kurdistan on Monday amid growing concern over the
possibility of the lethal form of avian flu spilling
across the border from nearby infected Turkey.
"We are calling on Iraqis not to panic or listen to
rumors, but at the same to inform us if they suspect
anything," he said on Iraqi television.
"Since the first cases were reported up in Turkey we
have been taking all the necessary measures to deal
with any possible influenza," he said.
But he warned Iraqis "not to approach domestic birds
and poultry as this is the main way of spreading the
disease".
The government of Sulaimaniyah, run by the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan, has decided to slaughter all
poultry and birds in an area near the Turkish and
Iranian borders following the recommendation of a
fact-finding mission.
The area, which consists of some 50 settlements, is
not a major poultry producing region, and residents
will be offered compensation.
"Poultry should only be slaughtered under the
supervision of the agriculture department since
individual measures can only contribute to the
spread of the disease," said a government statement,
promising firm measures in the case of
non-compliance.
"The virus of the bird flu exists in Kurdistan and
we are warning the population, particularly in the
four regions bordering Turkey and we are asking them
to cooperate with teams from the ministry of
agriculture, health and interior in slaughtering
poultry," it added.
The statement did not specify if it was referring to
the H5N1 strain.
Turkey, which has 21 cases of the flu, is the only
country outside Asia that has reported fatalities
from the virus. Four people have died there.
Health officials in Iraq's three Kurdish provinces
say a number of measures are being taken to stop the
spread of the virus. These include decontaminating
trucks crossing the border, banning the import of
Turkish poultry and prohibiting the sale of live
chickens inside Kurdistan.
There is also a major public awareness campaign
urging people to take precautions, including cooking
instructions to minimize the risk of infection.
Scientists fear that the more the virus spreads, the
greater the chance H5N1 will mutate into a form that
is easily transmissible between humans. This could
spark a global pandemic that could claim millions of
lives.
AFP
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