No Sign of Bird Flu Infection in Humans in Iran: Health Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Iranian Health Ministry's Center for Disease Control Mohammad Mahdi Gouya said no one in Iran has been diagnosed with avian (bird) flu.
"No case of bird flu has been reported in humans (in Iran)," Gouya said on Tuesday, adding that measures have been taken to provide necessary information in places where the disease might appear.
He further explaned that the birds suffering from H5N1-type flu have been culled throughout the country to prevent the spread of the disease.
Gouya added that Iran's veterinary organization has taken care of the individuals who were in contact with the birds diagnosed with the disease.
The drugs for the treatment of the disease are available in Iran but remedial measures should be taken at the moment one is suspected of having the disease, he stressed.
Avian influenza - known informally as avian flu or bird flu - refers to an illness caused by any of many different strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to the specific host, namely birds.
While its most highly pathogenic strain (H5N1) had been spreading throughout Asia since 2003, avian influenza reached Europe in 2005, and the Middle East, as well as Africa, the following year.
84% of affected bird populations are composed of chicken and farm birds, while the 15% is made up of wild birds according to capture-and-release operations in the 2000s, during the SARS pandemic.