|
Emergency measures introduced after deadly virus
strikes in the north of the country.
The Iraqi government is killing hundreds of
thousands of chickens in northeastern Iraq in an
attempt to avert a widespread outbreak of bird flu
in the region.
The measures are being taken following the death of
a 14-year-old girl in Rania, a district in
Sulaimaniyah province. Health officials announced on
January 30 that the girl died of the H5N1 strain of
bird flu, confirming months-long fears that the
deadly virus had reached Iraqi Kurdistan.
The government has so far killed 500,000 birds in
Sulaimaniyah province, in an attempt to staunch the
spread of the virus. Rania has been cordoned off,
with the authorities limiting travel in and out of
the district, as a precautionary measure.
Muhammad Khoshnaw, minister of health in the
semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, said on
January 31 that the government has given 350 Tamiflu
pills - life-saving medication used to prevent bird
flu - to government workers who are killing
chickens.
Mobile clinics are also being set up in Sulaimaniyah
and two other northern provinces, Erbil and Duhuk.
Two patients with bird flu-like symptoms are being
treated at hospitals in Sulaimaniyah province.
Khoshnaw said he expects to have enough medication
to treat a potential outbreak. But Tahssin Namiq,
head of the Iraqi commission to eradicate bird flu,
initially voiced concerns that Iraqi Kurdistan would
not have enough preventative medicine.
Residents in northern Iraq are sceptical that the
government is telling the truth about bird flu in
the region. Rumours that the disease had reached
Iraqi Kurdistan have been circulated in the region
for months.
"People knew the disease existed, and the girl died
because of it. But they kept it a secret from the
people," said Kazim Muhammad, a 23-year-old medical
student in Sulaimaniyah. "Now if they say they have
gotten rid of the virus, people will not believe the
authorities because they lied to them from the
beginning."
Health officials at first denied that the victim,
Shangeen Abdul Qadir, had died of bird flu based on
initial test results. But they later confirmed that
the H5N1 strain was to blame for her death.
Abdul Qadir was transferred to Sulaimaniyah hospital
on January 17 for treatment for bird flu-like
symptoms. She was from Sarkapkan village in Rania
district, 150 kilometres northeast of Sulaimaniyah
city.
Abdul Qadir fell ill on January 10 and was treated
in a Rania hospital, but her condition continued to
worsen. She died within ten minutes of being
transferred to Sulaimaniyah for medical treatment.
Abdul Qadir’s uncle, 40-year-old Abdullah Muhammad,
who had been nursing her, died on January 26.
"This is the first case of bird flu to be recorded
in Iraq and Kurdistan," Health Minister Abdul
Mutalib Ali Muhammad said in a press conference.
"This has raised concerns for doctors."
Abdul Qadir’s body was sent to the World Health
Organisation in Cairo, which determined that the
girl had died of the deadly virus.
"After the deaths of Abdul-Qadir and Muhammad, we
began killing all birds in that area," said
Agriculture Minister Shamal Abdul Waffa. "We will
keep [killing birds] in any area where there are
concerns about the disease being spread."
"The government will compensate all citizens whose
birds are killed," said Emad Ahmad, deputy prime
minister in Iraqi Kurdistan's Sulaimaniyah
administration.
The Iraqi health ministry confirmed that no cases
have been recorded in central or southern Iraq.
Many residents in northeast of the country stopped
buying poultry last fall when the first suspected
case appeared in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi
Kurdistan.
The government stopped importing chickens when cases
appeared in Kuwait and Turkey, and live chicken
markets were recently banned in Sulaimaniyah.
Concerns grew when Turkey's first bird flu-related
deaths were reported in southeast of the country
near the Iraqi Kurdistan border last month.
Before the ban, live chickens were caged in open
markets where most people shop for meat and
vegetables. The chickens were slaughtered and
plucked on site for freshness. In villages and rural
areas, they roam freely and many people have them on
their properties.
Many people in northern Iraq have now cut chicken
and eggs out of their diet.
Bahar Mustafa, a 31-year-old teacher in Sulaimaniyah,
said she hasn't eaten chicken since the bird flu
scare last month.
"After Shangeen's case, I'll never eat it again,
even though I like it," she said.
Sardar Kareem, 45, a chicken seller in Sulaimaniyah
city, said that before the bird flu scare he was
selling around a 1,000 birds each day, but his
business was now struggling.
"People are worried about eating chicken because of
bird flu, so they're not buying," he said. "If
business continues like this, I will shut down my
shop."
Amanj Khalil is an IWPR trainee journalist in
Sulaimaniyah.
www.iwpr.net
Top |
® 