Azeri bird flu girls discharged as outbreak eases

BAKU, Apr 12 (Reuters) Azerbaijan's Health Ministry said today that a bird flu outbreak was easing in the country and that two teenage girls had recovered sufficiently from the virus to be discharged from hospital.

The two girls from the same family were treated in hospital last month with suspected H5N1 bird flu, diagnoses confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Azerbaijan's Health Ministry is waiting for results of tests at a British laboratory on samples taken as a precaution from 43 people who had complained of serious cold-like symptoms in recent weeks.

''There have been no further approaches from the population and we are awaiting the results on the 43 people,'' Health Ministry spokeswoman Samaya Mamedova said.

''At the present time in Baku, there are no patients suffering from bird flu or with suspected bird flu.'' The WHO said yesterday that tests had found that the elder girl had the H5N1 strain of bird flu, but she had fully recovered and already been discharged.

That case takes the total confirmed bird flu cases in Azerbaijan to eight, five of which were fatal.

Bird flu has so far killed 109 people and led to the death and culling of some 200 million birds since late 2003.

REUTERS SRS HS2127