Turkish child dies of suspected bird flu
19/1/2006 11:31
One child died of suspected bird flu on the way to his hospital from
Bulanik town of Mus province in eastern Turkey yesterday, the semi-official
Anatolia news agency reported. Sevgi Acar, 11, was initially diagnosed as a
pneumonia patient and sent to Karacoban State Hospital in eastern Erzurum
province, but lost her life on the way to transfer to the Aziziye Research
Hospital, the hospital's Prof. Dr.Akin Aktas was quoted as saying. Aktas said
that blood samples taken from Sevgi Acar were sent to Ankara to determine if she
actually died of bird flu. Meanwhile, Aktas noted that another patient in the
Aziziye Research Hospital who tested positive for bird flu is in a stable
condition and can eat and drink. So far, there are 21 people infected with
bird flu in Turkey, among whom four children have died since. In an effort to
stem the spread of the disease, Turkey has culled some 988,000 fowl across the
country, according to the Turkish National Coordination Center for Bird Flu.
Xinhua
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