Iraq Media: Unconfirmed Reports Of `Bird Flu' Cases In Mosul

#14,569

Arabic language media reports on avian influenza can sometimes be misleading since many outlets have the unfortunate habit of labeling seasonal flu as ' انفلونزا الطيور` (aka `Bird Flu').

While you can usually differentiate these reports by other references (to birds, or the subtype), you still need to take these reports with a large grain of salt.

With those caveats in mind, and the fact that that the reported cases are only `suspected', we have numerous reports overnight on at least 5 cases, and 2 deaths, of people in Nineveh (near Mosul) due to `bird flu'. 

Typical of the reports is this (translated) one from Kirkuknow.com.

Mosul recorded cases of death and bird flu 

2019-12-09

Mosul record of the cases and the death of bird flu over the past twenty-four hours, as announced a senior medical source at the Directorate of Nineveh Health Department.

Bird flu is caused by a type of influenza virus rarely infects humans have been identified more than a dozen species of bird flu, including strains which have recently suffered by the humans - H5N1 and H7N9. When bird flu infects humans be deadly.

Dr. Jassim architectural director of Nineveh Health, said in a press interview (Kirkuk NOW), said that "four suspected cases of being infected with bird flu have been recorded in the hospital Ibn Sina in Mosul has been the reservation to two places private health isolation, while two died, and after sending samples medical laboratories to the capital of Baghdad was making sure injured one case of this disease. "

Bird flu signs and symptoms appear within two to seven days of picking up the infection, according to the type of influenza, and in most cases, similar to the signs and symptoms of regular flu and include (cough, fever, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, shortness of breath).

The Iraqi Ministry of Health will equip the Directorate of Nineveh Health 20 A vaccine special bird flu

Dr. Jassim architectural director of the health of Nineveh added that the deceased as a result of bird flu was an engineer aged 33 years and that the last two cases have also been sending medical samples to the capital Baghdad laboratories for analysis and to make sure the type of flu sufferer.

People with bird flu feel nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea are infected, and in a few cases, the disease does not indicate only a slight inflammation of the eye (conjunctivitis).

The World Health Organization recorded less than 500 deaths due to bird flu since 1997.

"The Iraqi Ministry of Health will equip the Directorate of Nineveh Health 20 A vaccine special bird flu" This was confirmed by the Director General of Health, Dr. Jassim Architect

Hot water and soap to wash cutting boards, utensils and all surfaces that have touched raw poultry would reduce the incidence of bird flu.

Raw eggs are often contaminated shell bird droppings, so avoid eating foods that contain uncooked eggs or cooked well protects against infection with bird flu.

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There are, obviously, some problems with this report.  The number of `avian flu' cases (H5, H7 & H9) reported by the WHO since 1997 is now well over 2,000, not less than 500.  And the deployment of a `a vaccine special bird flu' - unless they mean for local poultry - seems unlikely. 

This report does appear to reference `bird flu' - rather than seasonal flu - even though no subtype is provided.

There are probably a dozen other Arabic language reports on this incident, including what appears to be a press conference and local news report (see YouTube Video).   Other recent reports include:

Nineveh Health announces the registration of deaths due to bird flu

A health official in Nineveh: hospitals in the province so far five suspected cases of bird flu

If these reports sound vaguely familiar, it is because we've trod this ground before, with conflicting reports in early 2018 of an outbreak (again, in Mosul) which claimed 5 deaths had occurred (see Conflicting Bird Flu Reports From Iraq).

The Iraqi government vigorusly denied these reports, but a week later (see Peering Down Iraq's Bird Flu Rabbit Hole), a lengthy report appeared on
Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) website that seeminly contradicts the official narrative.

About human cases of influenza birds in the Republic of Iraq

25.01.2018 Mr.

According to the medical service of the province of Salah-ed-Din (north of the Republic of Iraq) of January 21, 2018, the death of a patient infected with the avian influenza virus was recorded in Balad. In the other two cases, the cause of death is established. In total, in the past few days, five deaths of people allegedly from avian influenza and one in Baghdad (January 18 of this year) have been recorded in Salah-ed-Din province.

The authorities also report two deaths in humans, presumably from bird flu in the provinces of Nineveh and Diyala (in the north and northeast of the country).

Although in official reports of fatal cases in humans, the serotype of the influenza virus was not named, earlier the Republic of Iraq notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that the cause of the bird flu epidemic in the country's poultry farms is the strain AH5N8.

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Officially, Iraq hasn't recorded a human infection with avian flu since 2006, although H5Nx and H9N2 continue to cause major losses in poultry across the region.  

That said, surveillance and testing - and a willingness to publicly disclose results - are often in short supply in this part of the world.

While global bird flu activity has been subdued the past couple of years, we've seen the emergence of several newly reassorted viruses in the Middle East (see EID Journal: Novel Reassortant HPAI A(H5N2) Virus in Broiler Chickens, Egypt) in 2019, a reminder that bird flu can always reinvent itself.


So, while I remain cautiously skeptical over the details of today's report, it is at least worthy of our notice.