H5N1 Spread in Iraq
Recombinomics Commentary 20:30
March 3, 2008
The morning Jassim Mozan general manager of the company General Veterinary teams are investigating the epidemic of avian influenza infection diagnosed the disease in a third village Alfdaekaya along the Iraqi-Iranian border south of Basra, a region previously recorded by the injury earlier this epidemic.
He added that the difference veterinary Mozan has burned thousands of poultry and birds in the area of injury and the surrounding area.
The above translation describes the spread of H5N1 in southern Iraq (see satellite map) and associated culling efforts. The area being culled is large and the above translation indicates at least two villages have tested positive.
The above is supported by other local media reports on new outbreaks in the area.
It is likely that the H5N1 is clade 2.2.3. Clade 2.2.3 was responsible for the 2007 outbreak in Kuwait and is also involved in the more recent outbreak in Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, recently released sequences confirm the Uvs Lake strain in the Czech Republic over the summer. In addition, a partial sequences from the 2008 outbreak in the Ukraine is also from clade 2.2.3.
Although clade 2.2.3 has become increasingly common in Europe and the Middle East, the H5N1 in Egypt is still clade 2.2.1, although the recent sequences in Egypt have acquired clade 2.2.3 polymorphisms.
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