Turkey stepped up efforts today to halt the outbreak of deadly bird flu while the World Health Organisation (WHO) commended the country's efforts to stem the spread of the disease but expressed concern about its virulence.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in 30 out of 81 Turkish provinces, including key tourism region near the Aegean coast, the capital Ankara and the business hub Istanbul.
Authorities have stepped up the culling of poultry, with more than 300,000 killed since December 26th. The authorities say they have the situation under control, but stress that Turkey will remain at risk as it lies in the path of migratory birds believed to carry the virus.
Health experts have said there is no evidence so far of human-to-human transmission, but fear the virus could mutate sparking a pandemic.
More than 70 people are suspected of having bird flu and are being tested. In eastern city of Van, where 40 people are being treated for suspected bird flu, locals complained that officials had failed to take away chickens running freely in the roads where children play.
A crisis centre has been set up in Ankara to deal with the outbreak and the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meets officials to discuss the crisis. The authorities have ordered doctors from large cities to be sent to eastern Turkey to address the shortage in what is the worst-hit area.
The WHO said today that Turkey was taking appropriate and satisfactory measures to handle an outbreak.
"We are satisfied both by type of action taken by the Ministry of Health and [the] possibility by our team to act freely and in transparency," WHO European Regional Director Marc Danzon told a news conference in Ankara.
The Organisation however, has expressed concern about the virulence of the disease in Turkey.
"It is an open question if we are seeing a more efficient transmission from animals to humans," said Guenael Rodier, heading the WHO's mission to Turkey.
There was also no answer yet to why the fatality rate was relatively low - just two confirmed deaths so far - against a rate in east Asia of roughly one death in every second case.