December 29, 2005

 

Turkey quarantines border region after bird flu discovery

 

 

Turkish authorities have quarantined a 10-kilometre zone near a town bordering Armenia after 1,500 dead chickens tested positive for an H5 variant of bird flu, the Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

 

The Agriculture Ministry said Tuesday the virus was first detected Monday following tests on samples taken from the town of Aralik, in the Igdir province bordering Armenia, where deaths of chickens have been reported in recent days.

 

Samples were to be sent to laboratories in Europe to see if the virus is H5N1, which is being tracked worldwide for fear it could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted between humans, the ministry said.

 

Authorities have culled close to 400 chickens and have banned fowl from entering and leaving the area to prevent the virus from spreading, a local official said.

 

Anatolia reported the ministry had sent disinfectants and special equipment to the area. It was unclear what was involved in this quarantine. In a previous bird flu case affecting western Turkey, people were able to move around but cars and people leaving the area had to be disinfected.

 

The virus was detected after 1,559 birds died in Aralik and neighbouring villages, according to Anatolia.

 

Neighbouring countries--Armenia, Iran and Azerbaijan--and international bodies would be notified, the ministry statement said.

 

The ministry statement said the virus was believed to have been brought to Turkey by birds migrating from Caucasus regions.

 

Romanian authorities also quarantined a south-eastern village Tuesday after detecting a new H5 bird flu case.