Bahrain deny hospitalising four suspected bird flu patients
21 March 2006

MANAMA - Bahrain health officials denied late Monday that they have admitted patients with suspected bird flu to a local hospital.

Adel Abdullah, head of international public relations at the Ministry of Health, described the reports as rumours, according to the Arabic daily Al Waqt. He confirmed that four people underwent routine checkups.
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“The routine checkups we carried out on the four were part of the national precautionary emergency plan put in place to deal with any suspected case,” he said.

Earlier reports suggested that four people from one family suspected of being infected with the deadly bird flu virus had been admitted late Monday to a Manama hospital.

Sources said that the four had been isolated pending further tests.