| Bird flu claims two children in Turkey, Europe gripped with fear |
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ISTANBUL: A Turkish girl died of bird flu Thursday, the government announced, saying her brother had earlier succumbed to the suspected illness at the weekend.
These are the first human deaths due to the killer disease outside China and southeast Asia, where it has already claimed an estimated 74 people so far since 2003, indicating that it is now on the doorsteps of Europe.
Doctors who attended on the two children at a hospital said they were from a rural area bordering Armenia where they live in close proximity to livestock and poultry. Their 11-year-old sister, Hulya, is now in the hospital with suspected symptoms. The siblings were admitted at the hospital last week after developing high fever, coughing and bleeding in their throats.
The governor of the eastern province of Van in Turkey, Niyazi Tanilir said the girl, Fatma Kocyigit, 15, died early Thursday morning. Her brother Mehmet Ali, 14 had died during the weekend and Turkish officials confirmed H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus as the cause of his death.
While it is difficult for the prevailing strain of the virus to infect humans, microbiologists fear the virus could mutate and easily transmit to humans. In that case, there is no cure and no prevention and there could be a pandemic, killing millions around the world.
A U.N. official described the news as disturbing, but at the present there is no cause for panic. He said the panic happens when there is a possibility of human-to-human transmission.
The governor said authorities have banned the sale and movement of animals in the region and ordered livestock owners to keep the livestock and poultry in enclosed areas.
Turkey's agriculture minister Mehdi Eker, who is in Van to monitor the situation, said the country has set aside 7 million lira ($5.3 million) to compensate people whose poultry is culled. Some 1,100 birds will be culled on Thursday, he said.
Meanwhile, there were reports that at least seven other people are being treated with symptoms. Three children from another family are said to be among the seven patients.
Turkey is on the path of migratory birds. The country had reported two outbreaks of the diseases in the past three months, one in western Turkey, near the Sea of Marmara and the other in Igdir province.
Random tests have confirmed that birds in Turkey, Romania, Russia and Croatia are infected with H5N1.
Posted
on : Thu, 05 Jan 2006 20:00 GMT | General News
By : Paula Jenkins
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