Avian Influenza: Update Iraq
February 3, 2006
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health of Iraq has reported a fatal human case of avian influenza A (H5N1) near the border with Turkey. A WHO collaborating laboratory in the United Kingdom confirmed the patient’s infection as being caused by influenza A(H5N1) virus. This is the first human case of H5N1 influenza reported in Iraq. The patient had a history of exposure to diseased birds and died on January 17. Recent poultry deaths have been reported in the area where the patients resided, although H5N1 infection has not been confirmed in birds in Iraq. Please see http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_01_30a/en/index.html for details.
Page last modified February 3, 2006