How tragic

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Girl, 2, dies after catching rare virus from a PIGEON - and doctors don't know how she got infected

• The toddler is believed to be only the fifth human victim of Newcastle Disease
• The virus strain causes a raft of deadly symptoms like twisted necks in birds 

 

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An Australian toddler has died after catching an illness rife in pigeons.

Medics still don't know how the two-year-old, who was battling leukaemia, caught the highly contagious virus.

But they think she might have got infected by touching pigeon faeces or fluids.

The girl, who wasn't identified, is only the fifth human victim of Newcastle disease since records began in 1926. 

Caused by avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV-1), the illness causes a raft of deadly neurological symptoms including twisted necks or trembling wings in birds. 

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Medics still don't know how the two-year-old, who was battling leukaemia, caught the highly contagious virus. But they think she might have got infected by touching pigeon faeces or fluids. The girl, who wasn't identified, is only the fifth human victim of Newcastle disease since records began in 1926