Dead Nigerian woman tests positive for bird flu
Source: Reuters
(Recasts with confirmation of women's death from bird flu) By Tume Ahemba LAGOS, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A 22-year-old woman died from bird flu after handling infected chicken, Nigeria said on Wednesday, confirming the first human fatality in sub-Saharan Africa. The government believes three other people may have died of the H5N1 virus in Africa's most populous nation, but tests proved inconclusive. "Last night our team of 13 scientists were able to conclusively identify the case of avian influenza in a 22-year-old female who died in Lagos," Information Minister Frank Nweke told a news conference. Nigeria is one of three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem the virus's spread. Bird flu has killed at least 164 people worldwide since it emerged in Asia in 2003 and travelled westwards with migrating birds and the poultry trade. Experts fear it could spark a deadly pandemic if it mutates into a form that passes easily from person to person. The Lagos woman's mother also died after handling the same bird but tests on samples taken from her body were inconclusive. Another member of the household in Nigeria's commercial capital displayed symptoms of bird flu but was responding to treatment in hospital, Nweke said. "The three people feathered and disembowelled the chicken so we believe that is how they were infected," said Abdulsalam Nasidi, a health ministry official. Direct contact with infected poultry is the most common way for people to catch bird flu. Millions of Nigerians keep poultry in their backyards and in the absence of refrigerators in most households, birds are transported and sold live, and killed just before eating. Health experts say it is not possible to contract bird flu through eating infected meat if the meat has been fully cooked at normal temperatures. The two other suspected human victims were in the north-eastern states of Borno and Taraba. Samples from the Lagos woman are being sent to foreign laboratories for confirmation. MORE TESTS The World Health Organization has not been informed about the Nigerian findings and would need to conduct its own tests before confirming them, spokesman Gregory Hartl said. A human case of bird flu in Nigeria was to be expected because of the experience in other countries, such as Indonesia, which have huge poultry populations and where chickens live in close proximity to humans. "It does not change anything from a public health point of view," Hartl said. "It had to happen sooner or later. It is following a pattern seen in other countries." Hartl said WHO would also expect to see a surge in suspect cases after the statement by the Nigerian government as more people come forward displaying possible symptoms. Nigeria detected the virus in chicken in northern Kaduna state a year ago. The virus has since spread to 17 of Nigeria's 36 states despite measures such as culling, quarantine and bans on transporting live poultry. Experts warn surveillance in Nigeria may not be completely effective because of poor health services. Many Nigerians die young of a variety of diseases and few families can afford the luxury of a doctor to determine the cause of death.
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