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Five more human avian flu cases in Turkey
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Playing with dead birds
On Monday, a fourth sibling was released from Van hospital after tests indicated he did not have the disease. Six-year-old Ali Hasan Kocyigit, the family’s only surviving child, left the hospital in his uncle’s arms, shyly gazing at cameras and journalists waiting outside.
Two preliminary H5N1 cases reported Sunday in Ankara, about 600 miles west of Van, involved boys aged 5 and 2 who apparently caught the virus while playing with gloves their father used to handle two dead wild ducks.
An 8-year-old girl hospitalized in Van with what Turkish labs showed was H5N1 apparently contracted the virus by hugging and kissing dead chickens.
On Monday, Health Minister Recep Akdag arrived with WHO officials in Dogubayazit, where many of the cases have originated.
“If as a community, we take the necessary measures and educate (people) we can in a short period of time combat this,” Akdag said. “We will manage to slow its progress.”
He said, however, that because Turkey was on the path of migratory birds, the country would continue to be at risk in years to come, and urged people to abandon raising poultry in backyards.
“The earlier we realize this, the earlier we will be rid” of bird flu, he said.
Akdag climbed up a snowy hill to visit Zeki Kocyigit, whose three children died of the disease. As he left, villagers shouted complaints about a lack of doctors.
Health officials believe the best way to fight the spread of bird flu is the wholesale destruction of poultry in the affected area. But they often run into problems in rural areas such as Dogubayazit, where villagers resist turning in their animals.
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