Less than a month after declaring that it had eliminated bird flu from its western territory, Turkey reported an outbreak of avian flu in the eastern province of Igdir, which is on the border with Armenia.
Authorities have identified the deadly H5 type virus in dead chickens. However, further tests are under way to determine if the birds had the deadly H5N1 strain that has killed more than 70 people in Asia since 2003.
The agriculture ministry said Tuesday that it quarantined the affected area and killed 359 birds in order to control the outbreak.
In October, authorities detected H5N1 in a village in northwest Turkey and ended up destroying more than 10,000 birds. On Dec. 9, the agriculture ministry anounced that it had eliminated bird flu in western Turkey.
Experts say Turkey will remain at risk for bird flu because it lies on the flight path of migratory birds, which are thought to spread the virus.
This Article is from MyDNA.com
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