Nearly 30 people are currently being treated in hospital for bird flu symptoms after three Turkish teenagers from the same family in the Dogubayazit town of eastern province of Agri died of bird flu in the past six days.

The three siblings are the first human deaths from the fatal virus outside Asia, where more than 70 people have lost their lives since the outbreak of bird flu in 2003.

It is reported that the family took their poultry indoors during freezing winter and ate some of the sick chicken.

President of Clinical Microbiology Foundation Professor Haluk Eraksoy was quoted by the Turkish Zaman daily as saying that more deaths may occur in Turkey caused by the killer virus.

"The fact of the matter is that the disease is fatal, and the death rate is very high. Patients diagnosed with the disease could not be saved despite their treatment. There is no guarantee that the other patients may be saved either," Eraksoy said.

Local media said bird flu has been spreading toward western Turkey despite the intensive measures taken by the agriculture and health ministries.

It reported that poultry sale has been banned in the Turkish capital of Ankara since two dead wild ducks, found near a dam lake in Nallihan town of the city, were tested positive for bird flu.

Meanwhile, Turkish Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Mehdi Eker said bird flu has been reported in 10 separate regions in Turkey, among which five have been confirmed as bird flu.

A total of 14,000 winged animals in 10 provinces have been culled since the first bird flu case was reported in the country, according to Eker.

"The issue is not only a concern for 300 million birds in Turkey, but also a concern for public health," Eker stressed while assuring that all necessary precautionary measures will be taken.

He said the virus spreads across the path of migratory birds from Caucasus, a strip along Turkey's border with Armenia and Iran.

In order to stop the spread of bird flu, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry banned hunting of all wild birds throughout the country as of Jan. 6.

Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag said on Saturday that the World Health Organization (WHO)'s laboratory in Britain has ruled out human-to-human contagion of the virus in Turkey.

"The results of samples which we sent to the laboratory confirmed our results. For the time being, there is no threat of contagion of avian flu from human to human," he said.

It is reported that the European Union and the WHO had sent a delegation to Turkey on Saturday to conduct further examinations.

On Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech to appease the public, saying "We have initiated a mobilization. The relevant ministries have taken all necessary measures. Our people do not need to worry."

He also called on citizens not to keep suspected poultry and hand them over to health teams.

According to WHO statistics, since the outbreak of the disease in 2003, altogether 74 people in Asia have died of the fatal virus of bird flu, with most of them traced back to contact with infected birds.

Turkey culled 10,000 birds in October 2005 in its west region of Balikesir after the first bird flu case was detected there and identified as the deadly H5N1 strain.

The Agriculture Ministry announced on Dec. 9, 2005 that it had successfully eliminated bird flu in western Turkey.