Nigeria's first case of a human death from the deadly bird flu virus has been confirmed by the World Health Organization, the country's information minister said Saturday according to The Associated Press. Lab tests conducted by WHO in London confirmed initial Nigerian tests that had indicated the 22-year-old woman was infected with H5N1 when she died on Jan. 17, Information Minister Frank Nweke Jr. said in a statement. He did not say when the London tests were conducted or when the results were conveyed to the government. Health officials in Nigeria reported several human cases of bird flu on Wednesday, saying one woman had died and a family member was infected but responding to treatment. With WHO's confirmation, Nigeria's public health authorities are now focused on finding out if any other people have been infected and taking measures to prevent further spread, Nweke said. «It bears restating, therefore, that H5N1 is widespread and continuing in the poultry population in Nigeria,» he said, with sick birds found in 19 of Nigeria's 36 states.
