ANKARA - TDN with wire services
A Turkish teenager whose brother died of bird flu succumbed to the disease on Thursday, a Turkish doctor said. If confirmed, the brother and sister will be the first human cases of the H5N1 strain in Turkey, as the virus moves westward from the far-eastern corner of Asia.
Guenael Rodier, a special adviser on communicable diseases at the World Health Organization's (WHO) European headquarters in Copenhagen, said tissue samples from the brother were tested by two laboratories in Turkey and that "it turned out to be positive [for H5N1], and because it's so specific it's unlikely that we're dealing with false positives." Additional specimens are now on their way to centers in Britain, where the initial test results will be checked, Rodier told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The victims, who hail from the small eastern town of Doğubeyazit, lived in the same household as infected chickens and ate the birds after they were slaughtered as a result of exhibiting signs of bird flu. The siblings were hospitalized last week after developing a high fever, coughing and bleeding in their throats.
Five more people were hospitalized on Thursday with similar symptoms, said Hüseyin Avni Şahin, head physician at the hospital. In all, 14 patients were or are being treated at the hospital.
"Some just came in because they were in contact [with fowl] and they were scared," Şahin told reporters outside the hospital, which was closed to visitors.
Health Minister Recep Akdağ on Thursday had ruled out the possibility of an "epidemic" of bird flu.
"We do not expect it [the disease] to spread to a lot of people. We are not expecting an epidemic in Turkey," Akdağ told CNN-Türk.
"There is a risk involved for families and their children who are in close contact with winged animals in unhygienic environments," Akdağ said.
Considering the way of life of Kurdish poors and the difficult situation of many people in Northern Kurdistan, it could be terrible if epidemy spreads...
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We SHOULD make SURE that it goes to Turkish Turkey - so that they are paralized for a LONG time - and then - while they are trying to save their asses - the Liberated Kurdistanî Pêshmerge can work with the Gêrîlas in North to liberate North Kurdistan! 
belive me whatever PKK is , the Roj TV is a good TV.
