Bird flu outbreak in south Turkey

Turkish officials have confirmed that there has been an outbreak of avian influenza in the country's south-east.

Turkey's agriculture ministry said at least 170 chickens had died in a village in the province of Batman.

The ministry said it was checking if the bird deaths were caused by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. It is believed wild birds spread the disease.

The country culled more than 1.3 million birds last year in an effort to control the spread of the virus.

"Strict quarantine measures have been taken in an area of 10km (6.2 miles) around the village where the disease was identified," the ministry said in a statement.

Turkey saw the first human deaths from H5N1 outside Asia, in January 2006, when 12 people were infected, four of whom later died.

More than 80 people have died of H5N1 bird flu since the disease's resurgence in December 2003 - most of them in South-East Asia.

Experts point out that cross-infection to humans is still relatively rare and usually occurs where people have been in close contact with infected birds.

But they say if the H5N1 strain mutates so it can be passed between humans, it could become a global pandemic.