Posted on 01/04/2006 4:38:26 PM PST by blam
Turkey diagnoses human bird flu
At least two people in eastern Turkey have tested positive for bird flu, the country's health minister has said.
A 14-year-old boy who died last weekend did have the disease, Recep Akdag said, contradicting earlier statements.
The boy's sister, who is seriously ill in hospital, also tested positive. A third sibling has symptoms of bird flu.
Experts are examining whether the boy died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed at least 70 people in Asia in the past two years.
The boy, named as Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, died on Sunday in the city of Van in eastern Turkey.
Bird flu
He and his brothers and sisters lived and worked on a poultry farm in the town of Dogubayezit, close to the border with Iran.
Mr Akdag said the family lived in the same home as the infected birds, and ate them.
The H5N1 strain has been discovered in bird flocks in Turkey, but no human cases have yet been confirmed.
Turkey lies on the migration path of wild birds suspected of spreading the flu westwards from Asia.
So far the disease appears only to have infected people who live or work closely with birds, but health experts fear it could mutate and spread among human populations as easily as common influenza.
See, now, that's news. "Human diagnoses Turkey Bird Flu" wouldn't be news.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1552203/posts
His sister has just died of bird flu also.
20 sick and 3 dead now...
HMMMMMMMM
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.