Turkish authorities confirm H5N1 bird flu virus in fowl in several southeastern villages

Authorities said laboratory tests confirmed the strain in the villages of Doluca, in Batman province, and in Akcayir and Yesilalan in neighboring Diyarbakir province. The H5N1 virus was first detected in the village of Bogazkoy earlier this month.

Authorities said a total of more than 3,500 birds have been culled in the affected villages. Hundreds of domestic fowl have died in the area over the past week and authorities have quarantined several villages.

Health officials were visiting dozens of other villages in the area, checking villagers for flu-like symptoms. Seven people have tested negative for the virus so far.

Experts worry that the H5N1 strain, which remains hard for people to catch, will mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic. So far, most human cases have been traced to direct contact with sick birds.

During an H5N1 outbreak in Turkey in January 2006, 12 people were infected and four of them died. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/