Almost 1 million fowl slaughtered in Turkey in a bid to arrest bird flu

Almost 1 million fowl slaughtered in Turkey in a bid to arrest bird flu

Turkey's National Coordination Center for Bird Flu announced Monday that almost one million domestic fowl were slaughtered in the country in a bid to counter the spread of bird flu.

The center reported that the bird flu broke out in 13 provinces till date and it has been said that 22 other provinces had suspected cases.

The provinces where bird flu has been detected include Istanbul, Agri, Sanliurfa, Erzincan, Bitlis, Yozgat, Erzurum, Igdir, Ankara, Bursa, Van, Kars and Aydin.

A fourth death due to bird flu has also been confirmed by the center. A 12-year-old girl died on Sunday after being afflicted with it. The girl, Fatma Ozcan died in the eastern province of Van at the 100th Year Hospital. Her five year old brother Muhammed Ozcan, who was also tested positive for H5N1 virus, is reportedly showing signs of improvement.

Fatma was buried after she was wrapped in a special body bag following a brief prayer in a cemetery under a torch light.

Turks fear that despite the culling of the fowl the virus is continuing to spread. Slaughtered fowl include geese, chickens, and turkeys. All the 20 people who have been diagnosed with H5N1 virus have either played with the birds or touched them, according to the health officials.

Meanwhile, Turkey's agriculture minister, Mehdi Eker, has said that the disease was prevalent in other neighboring countries too, but they were concealing it.

He said: “We know for fact that this disease exists in other places, but there are some (countries) that are hiding it.”

Five of the 20 people affected with the virus have been discharged from hospital, the center said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip's met with his cabinet to discuss as to what further efforts were needed to handle the situation. As a precautionary measure authorities on Monday prohibited the transport of all fowls.