H5N1 Re-emerges in Turkey
Recombinomics Commentary
February 9, 2007
In Turkey, the agriculture ministry confirmed that the H5N1 strain infected fowl in the southeastern part of the country. Authorities have closed off a 10-kilometer (6-mile) region around the village of Bogazkoy, in Batman province, and have so far culled almost 800 birds, the ministry said in a faxed statement.
Three children and one adult have been hospitalized after touching sick birds, the health ministry said in a statement on its Web site today. The three children showed signs of respiratory tract infection, the statement said. Samples from the patients were being tested for bird flu, according to the statement.
The above comments indicate H5N1 has been confirmed in Turkey. Recent H5N1 confirmations in Hungary, Krasnodar, Pakistan, UK, and Egypt suggested Turkey and neighboring countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa again had widespread H5N1, although most countries have yet to report the outbreaks,
H5N1 in Turkey is cause for concern. The first confirmed human H5N1 Qinghai cases were reported in Turkey in early 2006. The H5N1 from the index case had S227N, which increase the affinity for human receptors.
S227N was also detected in Egypt last year, and is also in the most recent confirmed case.
The re-emergence of H5N1 in Turkey coupled with the re-emergence of S227N in Egypt, is cause for concern.
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