Azerbaijan: 3 Dead From Bird Flu

[Mojorabbit]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/13/health/main1393075.shtml
Tests have confirmed that three people recently died from bird flu, a top Azerbaijani health official said Monday.

Deputy Health Minister Abbas Velibeyov told The Associated Press that tests conducted by the World Health Organization had confirmed the diagnosis of avian influenza in the deaths of three people, who all came from the same district on the ex-Soviet nation's Caspian Sea coast, south of the capital, Baku.

Velibeyov said that names and ages of the victims would be released on Tuesday.

[NYC]

1. A tangential concern:

...A racing pigeon association urged authorities Monday not to cull the country's 800,000 racing pigeons, arguing that the birds were not carriers of the deadly H5N1 strain of the flu virus. "Racing pigeons have a strict diet and are vaccinated against all diseases," said a statement from the Union of Federations of Romanian Pigeon Enthusiasts. There are about 6,000 breeders in Romania; they have 800,000 pigeons which take part in national and international competitions...

From the end of the article:
...The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed or forced the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens and ducks across Asia since 2003...

[smirkymonkey]

2. I wonder how many people died of the regular old flu in Azerbaijan

this year? I am not going to get alarmed until people who don't live in close quarters with fowl start dying off by the truckload.