FAO warns Turkey's neighbors of bird flu risk

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday urged Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria to increase surveillance for bird flu, warning that the deadly virus might have spread beyond Turkish borders.

There is no reason to believe that the avian influenza virus "has not already passed the borders of eastern Turkey," said Samuel Jutzi, director of FAO's animal production and health division, adding, however, that they had not yet confirmed the spread.

The UN food agency urged Turkey's neighboring countries to take measures to detect and prevent possible outbreaks of bird flu.

Fatma Ozcan, a 12-year-old girl, suspected of having contracted bird flu, died in a hospital in the eastern Turkish city of Van on Sunday. Her brother, Muhammet Ozcan, 5, had also been tested positive for the deadly virus, increasing the number of infected in Turkey to 19.

The two children were from the same region of Dogubeyazit where three siblings died of bird flu less than two weeks ago.

Source: Xinhua