First cases of Bird Flu from wild fowl confirmed in Azerbaijan

The four victims died after they plucked the feathers from dead swans to sell for pillows, Britain's The Guardian newspaper reported Monday. Three other people were infected the same way but survived.

Most of the 220 other documented cases of bird flu have been transmitted to people via infected domestic birds, the newspaper said. A few are believed to have acquired the deadly H5N1 strain from other people.

The Azerbaijani cases were first reported in March, but were only recently confirmed. Six of the seven victims, all between ages 10 and 20, were from the same family. Hunting and harvesting wild birds is illegal in Azerbaijan, and surviving family members finally conceded to plucking the feathers from the dead birds, The Guardian said.

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