Turkey confirms chickens in northern village were killed by H5N1 strain of bird flu
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
ANKARA, Turkey: An outbreak of bird flu that killed dozens of chickens in a village in northern Turkey is the H5N1 strain of the virus, which is being tracked by world health authorities, the Agriculture Ministry confirmed Tuesday.
Authorities placed the village of Saz under quarantine after dozens of chickens died, said Tunc Tuncel, a ministry spokesman. Authorities have culled 1,000 chickens in Saz and three surrounding villages, the Dogan news agency reported.
Experts worry that the H5N1 strain, which remains hard for people to catch, could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic. So far, most human cases have been traced to direct contact with sick birds.
The H5N1 strain has been blamed for the deaths of at least 219 people worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
During an H5N1 outbreak in Turkey in January 2006, 12 people were infected and four of them died.
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