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BAGHDAD, (Jan
19), - Iraqi experts went from village to village in
the Kurdish region of Kurdistan (northern Iraq)
today, searching for signs of the bird flu virus
among people and poultry after the death of a
teenager from a fever caused alarm.
Abdul Jalil Hassan, head of national bird flu crisis
management, said the team was despatched to the city
of Sulaimaniya to coordinate with local doctors who
were testing for the human strain of the virus after
the death of Tijan Abdul Qader from a village near
the Turkish and Iranian borders.
''Our team that was sent there has expanded its
searching area and is now checking villages around
Dukan lake and Raniya and all that part,'' Hassan
said.
''They are checking all flu cases even if they
looked normal.'' Health officials said Abdel-Qader,
who died on Tuesday after a two-week illness, lived
close to a lake that is a haven for migratory birds
flying south from Turkey, where 21 people have been
confirmed this month as having the H5N1 virus.
The girl lived near Raniya close to Lake Dukan,
which draws many migratory birds to the region where
Iraqi officials had been taking measures to try to
prevent domestic fowl from being infected.
Tests are still being conducted to establish whether
the girl was infected with bird flu, which has
killed at least 80 people since late 2003.
Iraq has been trying to secure porous borders with
its neighbours, particularly Syria, since 2003 to
stop the flow of foreign insurgents but with little
success. Tribes living along border areas also make
a living from smuggling goods.
Rebel violence and anarchy gripping Iraq would make
it difficult to contain any epidemic among wildfowl
and poultry.
But it has been preparing measures since October and
banned poultry imports from Turkey earlier this
month.
Reuters
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