Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu? No it is H1N1

[Treyfish]

Saturday, 26 February 2011, 09:10 GMT

AKNEWS photo


Aknews

"The disease can be eliminated by providing basic medication,"

An official in the Iraqi ministry of Health?s Epidemic Disease Commission announced yesterday that 142 cases of Avian Flu (H5N1) have been recorded in the country so far this winter.

Ihsan Jaafar told AKnews that the ministry is concerned about the spread of the disease in remote areas of the country, far from medical facilities.

?Mountain areas and areas close to water are the most in danger of suffering a flu pandemic,? he said.

Jaafar assured that the Ministry is taking pro active measures to control the spread of the disease.

?The flu will be treated seriously by the ministry as it is spread during the change of seasons, especially in the winter months?.

?The disease can be eliminated by providing basic medication,? he said.

Avian flu (H5N1) commonly known as bird flu was first discovered in Italy in 1878. The disease is spread by chickens and migratory birds.

Iraq registered the first fatality from avian flu in 2006.

http://www.kurdishglobe.net/display-...D18362CEC3A36B

[alert]

Re: Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu?

I suspect they may have confused H1N1 and H5N1 again...

[alert]

Re: Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu? Most likely H1N1

Another possiblitiy is raised by the ProMED moderator below who suggests this may be a report of H5N1 in poultry, although the lack of mention of any "deaths" tends to indicate, IMO, that this is likely H1N1 in humans.

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/f?p=2400:1001:324395678314617::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,87276

Archive Number 20110226.0635
Published Date 26-FEB-2011
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (19): Iraq, susp., RFI

AVIAN INFLUENZA (19): IRAQ, SUSPECTED, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
************************************************** ************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Sat 26 Feb 2011
Source: Aknews via Kurdishglobe - Erbil [edited]
<http://www.kurdishglobe.net/display-article.html?id=6DEE509E9A2946EBFBD18362CEC3A36B>


Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu
-----------------------------------------------
An official in the Iraqi ministry of Health's Epidemic Disease
Commission announced yesterday [Fri 25 Feb 2011] that 142 cases of
avian flu (H5N1) have been recorded in the country so far this
winter.

Ihsan Jaafar told AKnews that the ministry is concerned about the
spread of the disease in remote areas of the country, far from medical
facilities. "Mountain areas and areas close to water are the most in
danger of suffering a flu pandemic," he said.

Jaafar assured that the Ministry is taking proactive measures to
control the spread of the disease.

Iraq registered the 1st fatality from avian flu in 2006.

--
Communicated by:
Nati Elkin
<nati@poultrymed.com>

[The above information, allegedly derived from official public health
sources and supposedly informing about human H5N1 cases, is in need of
confirmation [and almost certainly relates to animal health - Mod.DK].
According to the WHO, as of 9 Feb 2011 there have only been 3 human
cases and 2 fatalities in Iraq, all in 2006
(<http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2011_02_09/en/index.html>).
On the other hand, very little is known about the current animal
health situation in Iraq.

Iraq, a member of the OIE, had submitted its last official
animal-health report to the organisation on 21 Apr 2009; this was an
annual report, covering the period Jan - Dec 2008. No later reports --
either immediate notifications nor periodic (semi-annual or annual)
reports -- from Iraq are available on OIE's interface. Iraq's delegate
to the OIE is Dr Salah Fadhil Abbas, Director General, Animal Health,
Ministry of Agriculture, Wazeriha, Wazeryia, Baghdad.

An official report on the current HPAI situation is anticipated.
Previous requests for information on the epizootiological situation in
Iraq have remained unattended to (see 20101229.4585, 20110123.0282).

Initiative from the side of international agencies, such as the FAO
and/or OIE, to enhance Iraq's submission of its due animal disease
reports will be commendable. FAO's Field Programme Activities include
the project OSRO/IRQ/707/UDG, "Strengthening the capacity of the Iraqi
Veterinary Services for control of Zoonotic and Transboundary Animal
Diseases" (funded, for the period 2009-2011, at USD 3 001 714). -
Mods.CP,AS]

[sharon sanders]

Re: Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu? Most likely H1N1

The original article is vague. We are going to leave the thread in this forum until we can find some clarity on the situation.

[Laidback Al]

Re: Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu? Most likely H1N1

See this previous thread from January about H5N1/H1N1 in Iraq.

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=387406#post387406

[Laidback Al]

Re: Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu? Most likely H1N1

And from February 8, 2011, H1N1 report from Iraq. hat tip Kassy.

Iraq reports 5 A/H1N1 fatalities 08.02.2011 13:18

The Iraqi Health Ministry announced that five people, including a Pakistani national, have died due to the A/H1N1 flu, and that 72 cases registered infected with the disease, an Iraqi newspaper said on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
"The Iraqi ministry has registered the latest toll of the epidemic since the beginning of this year in central and southern Iraq," the independent daily of al-Mashriq quoted Ihsan Mohammed Jaafar, director of the public health department in the Health Ministry, as saying. . . .

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/iraq/1825504.html

[alert]

Re: Health ministry registers 142 cases of bird flu? No, Pandemic H1N1

I thought it would be H1N1...

There is no good reason to call H1N1 "avian".

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/f?p=2400:1001:5276334826262885::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,87293

Archive Number 20110227.0649
Published Date 27-FEB-2011
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza (20): Iraq, NOT

AVIAN INFLUENZA (20): IRAQ, NOT
*******************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Sun 27 Feb 2011
From: Talib Murad <talib.murad@krg.org> [edited]


Re: Avian influenza (19): Iraq, susp., RFI (20110226.0635)
----------------------------------
I was astonished to read the report that there were over 142 cases of
avian influenza (H5N1) in Iraq, as I had received no information on
such a serious situation. I therefore contacted the Ministries of
Agriculture in Baghdad and Erbil and the Directors of Veterinary
Services for information on the situation.

I have now been informed by the Director of Veterinary Services in
Baghdad, Dr Basem Adhadh, that this report is highly erroneous, as the
avian influenza strain concerned is H1N1 and not the highly pathogenic
H5N1 that poses risks to human health.

This is a classic example of a reporting mistake that can lead to
further media hype and public panic and necessitates a statement as to
the true state of affairs with regard to bird flu in Iraq.

--
Talib Murad Ali Elam, DVM, Ph.D,
Adviser for Food Security & Agriculture to H.E. The Prime Minister,
Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG-Erbil-Iraq
<talib.murad@krg.org>

[We are very grateful to Dr Talib Murad for the above information
which enables us to put the facts straight and in a timely manner.
Since the information was initially derived from Iraq's Ministry of
Health, it may be assumed that the 142 H1N1 positive results relate to
human patients.

H1N1 has been reported in several countries in animals, rarely being
avian (Chile and Canada; see references below). - Mod.AS]