Girl Gets Bird Flu After Kissing Chicken ( no.. this isnt a joke hehe )

AP ^

[Pimpmygop]

Sumeyya Mamuk considered the chickens in her backyard to be beloved pets. The 8-year-old girl fed them, petted them and took care of them. When they started to get sick and die, she hugged them and tenderly kissed them goodbye. The next morning, her face and eyes were swollen and she had a high fever. Her father took her to a hospital, and five days later she was confirmed to have the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu

[Pimpmygop]

...and we thought Mononucleosis was the only kissing disease!

[martin_fierro]

Girl Gets Bird Flu After Kissing Chicken

So that's what the kids are calling it these days.

[inquest]

Following a few tense days when her family worried if she would recover, Summeya's condition has improved due to quick treatment with the antiviral drug Tamiflu, said Dr. Huseyin Avni Sahin, chief physician at the Van 100th Year Hospital.

This is actually quite good news.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Sumeyya began to cry. She wiped her tears with the hand she'd been using to comfort the dying chicken.

What a tender hearted child.
Glad she pulled through.

[Tx Angel]

Ditto

[MineralMan]

Sounds like a sweet little kid. Kids that age just adore small animals. Hope she gets well fast.

[evets]

Stop the madness!

[TChris]

(Sung in your best imitation of a Mariachi Band)

Bese feliz mi pollo!
Bese dulce mi pollo!

(etc, etc)

[RightResponse]

In the related story, it was found to be very stultifying that her little brother felt no adverse affects after choking the chicken....

[voiceinthewind]

She sounds like a very tender-hearted little girl. Many children here raise chickens for 4-H. Her parents must have been terrified, several children have already died from this flu.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Nothing in the slightest funny about this story.

She was a very fortunate little girl.

[308MBR]

The only fools doing that stuff have never watched chickens in action.

I had rather kiss a possum.

[Pimpmygop]

im just trying to figure out how she caught the pet chicken to actually kiss it. They are not easy to catch.

[bikerman]

They are when you cut off their feet,or maybe it was a boneless chicken to begin with.

[inquest]

Or when it's dying of the bird flu...

[Capriole]

I wonder if this is yet a danger when handling American poultry? My little boy wants to have chickens. For some reason he really likes them. Not long ago I caught him sitting in a friend's chicken coop with an old hen on his lap, petting her back while she clucked softly. It was very sweet. (OK, weird kid, I know.) But if this disease is going to move to the US, he is not going to get chickens or be in the 4-H poultry program.

[Termite_Commander]

Capriole, right now, it's safe for you to get and own chickens. The virus is not in the U.S., and American chicken is perfectly safe at the moment.

Of course, if the virus does get here, you must accept the fact that you might have to surrender the chickens to cullings.

So consider it carefully. H5N1 shouldn't be at the top of your list when debating whether to get chickens or not, but it should be thought about somewhat.