A total of 21 people in Turkey have tested positive for the deadly strain. Four of them, all children, have died.
Experts fear the virus, which has killed at least 82 people worldwide since 2003, will mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans. So far, most of the victims appear to have caught the virus from close contact with infected birds.
(AP)
Affected Areas
Click on the map for a closer view of the areas within RFE/RL's broadcast region where cases of diseased fowl have been confirmed. Last updated on February 20.
BIRD FLU, or avian influenza, continues to menace scattered areas from East Asia, where the disease first appeared, to Southeastern and Eastern Europe and beyond. Authorities around the world are bracing themselves -- and, more importantly, planning and taking measures to fight the disease wherever it appears.
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