Turkey has reported a fourth human case of bird flu and new outbreaks among birds amid accusations that the government is mishandling the crisis in the country's remote east.
With the disease now at Europe's doorstep, experts from the
World Health Organization (WHO) arrived in Turkey but bad weather forced them to postpone a trip to the infected areas until tomorrow.
Health Minister Recep Akdag said avian influenza had been detected in a fourth person, currently under treatment in a hospital in the city of Van, after officials confirmed three human cases yesterday
He did not specify whether the virus was the lethal H5N1 strain blamed for the death of two siblings in the same hospital over the past week, the first human fatalities of bird flu outside Southeast Asia and China.
As authorities scrambled to raise awareness, the government
faced accusations that it had dragged its feet over bird flu alerts in remote eastern areas, some of which were dated two months ago.
Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker rejected criticism that Ankara's response was inadequate, arguing that 'the social-economic characteristics of the region and the low level of education' of its people were complicating the battle.
