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Kuwait hospitalises four Asians for suspected bird flu
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - Four Bangladeshi workers who had been culling chickens infected with bird flu were admitted to hospital in Kuwait with flu-like symptoms Tuesday, the health ministry said.
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The four men are members of the teams combating the disease and have been involved in culling chickens. They were admitted to hospital over suspicions they might be infected," ministry spokesman Ahmad al-Shatti told AFP.
Shatti said it was not the first time that anyone had been admitted to hospital to be kept under observation for the disease.
A total of 22 people have so far been admitted to the infectious diseases hospital for monitoring before being discharged after testing negative.
The spokesman said there was greater concern for the four new admissions, however, as they had been handling infected fowl.
There have been rumors, and official denials, for several days over whether Kuwait had any bird flu victims. Apparently, 18 other people have been hospitalized, and released; cleared of having the infection.
Obviously, until we have confirmed tests on these suspected victims, we don't really know if they are infected with the H5N1 virus.
