6 Pakistanis Infected With H5N1 Bird Flu
Pastor Dale Morgan
6 Pakistanis Infected With H5N1 Bird Flu*
The Associated Press
Saturday, December 15, 2007; 1:21 PM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Six people caught the deadly strain of bird flu
in northern Pakistan last month and at least one person with the disease
has died, the government said Saturday.
The World Health Organization confirmed that all six cases were positive
for the H5N1 strain of the virus in preliminary testing, but said a
second round of analysis was being conducted to make sure.
If confirmed, the infections would be the first in humans in South Asia.
Pakistan's Health Ministry said it had tested several patients and
others with whom they had come into contact in late October. The results
for six people from the Abbottabad and Mansehra districts of North West
Frontier Province were positive, it said in a statement.
The ministry said five people had fully recovered, one died in a
hospital and his brother, who could not be tested, also died. It did not
explain why the brother could not be tested.
The virus has killed more than 200 people worldwide since it began
ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003, according to the WHO.
Most of the human cases of H5N1 bird flu have been reported in Indonesia
and Vietnam. On Friday, the WHO confirmed the first case in Myanmar,
where a 7-year-old girl was infected but recovered.