March 2, 2006	Thursday	Safar 1, 1427

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GUJRANWALA, March 1: The death of three members of a family was caused by pneumonia and heart failure and not by Bird Flu, claimed a health department report here on Wednesday.

The report said that a special health team led by District Health Officer Dr Saeed Ullah Khan visited the house of one Sheikh Liaqat Ali in a Faisalabad locality along with EDO (health) Dr Zafer Iqbal Niazi and quizzed him about the death of his family members.

According to the report, Sheikh Liaqat confirmed that the deaths were the result of pneumonia and heart failure and not the Bird Flu.

He said that first his elder son Sajid died of pneumonia, while his mother later died of heart failure due to shock. Meanwhile his second son Rashid fell ill with viral fever who was admitted to the Mayo hospital, Lahore, where he also died.

He said certain media reports saying the deaths had been caused due to Bird Flu created panic among his family members and the public. He said that the certificate issued by the Mayo Hospital doctors also showed that the death was caused by ordinary fever.

He denied that his family was in poultry business or the deceased ate chicken a day before their death.

The Pakistan Medical Association president Dr Sardar Riaz also accompanied the inquiry team. The DHQ hospital submitted the report to higher authorities.