Romania and Turkey report new bird flu outbreaks

Sat Oct 8, 2005 8:13 PM BST
By Radu Marinas
Reuters - UK

"BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania and Turkey reported new cases of avian flu on Saturday and began culling hundreds of birds to prevent the globally feared disease from spreading.

"...If the Romanian cases turn out to be the deadly H5N1 virus, they would be the first evidence the strain has spread to Europe from Asia, where it has killed 65 people and millions of birds since 2003. Russia and Kazakhstan have already had outbreaks.

"...Ion Agafitei, Romania's chief veterinarian, told reporters three birds had tested positive in the Danube delta village of Smardan after the first cases emerged in another village on Friday.

"Further tests, some in Britain, were planned to discover whether the strain is H5N1.

"CNN Turk television quoted Turkish Farm Minister Mehdi Eker as saying bird flu had been discovered in Turkey for the first time.

"The television station said turkeys had died of the disease on a farm in Balikesir province near the Aegean Sea in western Turkey. All animals on the farm had been slaughtered.

"'Yesterday, unfortunately, we experienced a case of bird flu. But everything is under control, every precautionary measure has been taken to prevent it spreading,' CNN Turk quoted Eker as saying. The minister gave no details." Click the title to read the article.

With the onset of a possible bird flu pandemic, read Diseases & Impaired Immunity to find out if your own immune system is already compromised. Read more to learn how you can help yourself while waiting for the right vaccine to come along.

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