Human bird flu diagnosed in eastern Turkey

At least two people in eastern Turkey have tested positive for the deadly human strain of bird flu, Health Minister Recep Akdag confirmed via a live press conference on Wednesday night. A 14-year-old boy who died last weekend did have the disease, Recep Akdag said, contradicting earlier statements. Fatma, Hulya, Ali Hasan and Mehmet Ali Kocyigit were taken to Van Yuzuncu Yil University Hospital on 1st January. The doctors denied that it was human bird flu when Mehmet Ali Kocyigit died on Sunday evening. His sister, 15 year old Fatma has been seriously ill in hospital, also tested positive. Other siblings have symptoms of bird flu, too. Experts are examining whether the boy died of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed dozens in Asia. The H5N1 strain has been discovered in bird flocks in Turkey, but no human cases have yet been detected. 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.

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