A third person has died in Turkey from the H5N1 virus. The child was the third to succumb to the disease in the last week. The child, an 11 year old girl, was the third member of the same family to die. Her 15 year old sister and 14 year old brother died only days before. A fourth family member remains hospitalized and up to 20 other children are in hospital with flu like symptoms. [BBC]This latest outbreak has brought with it the increased worry that the virus may have ‘jumped the species barrier’ and brought the risk of a pandemic closer than ever. It is also the closest to mainland Europe that a human victim has been identified. Until now victims of the so called ‘bird-flu’ have been confined to China, Vietnam and the Far East. [06/01/2006]
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