… is the truth.
Today, we are receiving conflicting reports from Iraq, and it is impossible right now to know what is true, and what is the result of mistranslations or deliberate deception.
Hot off the wires this morning is this report:
Al-Sulaimaniya, Iraq/Cairo (dpa) - A fresh bird flu scare has erupted in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq with reports of 162 suspected cases almost two weeks after a 15-year-old girl died of the deadly strain.
In the Thursday issue of pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, the head of the pre-emption committee in the Kurdistan Province Najm Eddin Mohammed announced that 162 people have been admitted to the diagnosis center on suspicion of contracting the virus.
Mohammed told al-Hayat that the virus has proliferated throughout Rania, a region southwest of al-Sulaymania on the border with Turkey, and described the influx as a “crisis.”
If true, then this is a serious turn of events. But is it true?
Seasonal flu is sweeping the world, a pesky but routine version of H3N2. With fears of Avian Flu running high, how many of these 162 suspected cases are nothing more than seasonal flu? Testing will take days. In some cases, weeks. The initial negative tests that we hear so much about in the news are often reversed a week or two later . . . after the patient has died.
I am reluctant to jump to any conclusions here. These reports are coming from a war torn area, with minimal health facilities, and more political agendas than you can count. I’ve repeatedly seen obviously flawed news accounts, where sloppy reporting has given the wrong impression.
Two days ago, the Iraqi Health Minister annouced that 5 mobile hospitals were being dispatched to Northern Iraq to help contain the virus. The next day, this was changed to 5 Ambulances.
Which version is true? Damn if I know.
However . . .if the number of H5N1 cases has really jumped from 12 yesterday, to 162 today . . . then Iraq may be the focal point of a real outbreak. One where Human to Human transmission is occurring. If this proves to be true, as Sherlock Holmes used to say, “The game is afoot”.
Time will tell.
Tick . . . Tick . . . Tick . . .
