A 12-year-old Turkish girl suspected of carrying bird flu virus died on Sunday.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that Fatma Ozcan, who was transferred on Jan. 10 from a hospital in Dogubeyazit town of eastern province of Agri, died at Van Yuzuncu Yil University Hospital on Sunday after receiving respiratory treatment.

Fatma's five-year-old brother Muhammed Ozcan is in a serious condition while receiving treatment in the hospital for a confirmed infection of bird flu virus.

However, Fatma was initially tested negative for bird flu, the ministry said, adding that further tests were under way.

So far Turkey has reported 19 human cases of bird flu, including three children of the same family from Dogubeyazit town who have died of the deadly strain of H5N1 this month.

Turkey has culled 592,000 poultry since the first outbreak of the disease in October 2005, and 26 of the country's 81 provinces have reported outbreak so far, Anatolia News Agency quoted Turkish Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Mehmet Mehdi Eker as saying.

On Wednesday, a senior World Health Organization official said that Turkey responded well in its efforts to restrict the spread of bird flu and there has been no human to human case yet.