A five-year-old boy was hospitalized in Cankiri province in central Turkey after being diagnosed with bird flu, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.

The report said that the child was rushed from Cayyaka village of the neighboring Corum province to a hospital in Cankiri.

"His condition has stabilized for the time being. We have taken all necessary measures against bird flu," Provincial Director for Health Affairs Abdullah Kama said.

Earlier on Sunday, three people receiving medical treatment inthe capital Ankara were tested positive for bird flu, Anatolia reported.

Governor of Ankara Kemal Onal declared the new cases included two children and an adult.

It was not immediately clear whether the three people had contracted the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.The new cases were announced shortly after three children from one family died of bird flu in eastern Turkey, two of them were confirmed infected with H5N1.

Meanwhile, two other young children in a hospital in eastern Turkey have been treated for bird flu.

Turkey reported its first bird flu outbreak in October 2005 inits northwestern region.

It is feared that bird flu, which currently jumps from birds to humans, can mutate into a disease that can easily pass among humans which would trigger a global pandemic.

The H5N1 strain has so far killed over 70 people since it was first reported in Asia in 2003.