16 February 2006
The dead uncle of an Iraqi girl who died last month after contracting the deadly avian influenza virus also had the disease, a US official said, citing results of samples tested at a UN-certified laboratory in Egypt.
The man died on January 27 in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.
He lived in the same house as his 15-year-old niece.
She was confirmed as the country's first avian influenza-related death.
They died 10 days apart.
A final test must be carried out by a London laboratory certified by the United Nations' World Health Organisation before the world body certifies that the uncle did in fact have avian influenza H5N1.