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More reported outbreaks of suspected bird flu in Turkey has prompted authorities to seal off 4 more villages in that country. Over the weekend, it was reported that 3 villages were quarantined by `paramilitary' forces.
Four Turkish villages quarantined over bird flu fear
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AFP) - Four more villages in southeastern Turkey have been quarantined over bird flu fears after the presence of the potentially lethal H5N1 virus was confirmed last week in the region.
The village of Akcay and three nearby hamlets in the mainly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir were placed under quarantine following the deaths of poultry there, said the head of the local agriculture department, Mustafa Kayhan.
"There is a suspicion of bird flu," he said, adding that samples from dead birds were sent to a laboratory for analyses Monday.
The H5N1 virus, which claimed four lives in Turkey a year ago, resurfaced last week in the village of Bogazkoy in the neighboring province of Batman.
