Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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Iraqi Health Minister Confirms Kurdish Girl Died of Bird Flu
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=10C5C08:3919ACA Abdel Mutalib
Mohammed says new tests of victim's blood samples confirmed  teenager
had contracted deadly strain Iraq's health minister says a girl who
died earlier this month in northern Iraq was a victim of the deadly
H5N1 strain of the bird flu - the first known case of the disease in
the country.

Abdel Mutalib Mohammed told reporters Monday that new tests of the
victim's blood samples confirmed the Kurdish teenager had contracted
the deadly strain.

Nearly two weeks ago, the World Health Organization said its tests for
the virus were negative.

The girl died January 17th in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniya, near
the border with Turkey and Iran.  The death triggered concerns that
infected birds from Turkey had begun spreading the virus in Iraq. Some
information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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