New Cases of Bird Flu in Turkey

Six more people are reported to have been hospitalized with symptoms of bird flu. Supposedly, it is virus H5N1, which earlier caused the deaths of two teenagers in another province.

All the six patients are residents of the province of Igdir, bordering on Armenia and situated north of the province of Agri, where the two victims – brother and sister - lived. Another 7 people have been hospitalized and being treated in Agri.

A 14-year-old boy died on January 1, and his sister died in the morning of January 5. Both had been taken to hospital in the town of Van from a small village on the Iranian border.

Doctors believe that the number of lethal cases may go up. The region where the outbreak of the bird flu cases was registered will be visited by the minister of agriculture and a team of experts today. Poultry is expected to be culled en masse shortly. The regional authorities call on the local people to avoid contact with birds.

The Turkish authorities have already confirmed the first cases of people dying of bird flu in the country. Health minister Recep Akdag has expressed his concerns.