Child Is Third Bird Flu Victim In Eastern Turkey

Health officials in Turkey say a third child of the same family has died of bird flu in the eastern Turkish city of Van.

Doctors say the 11-year-old girl Hulya Kocyigit died today-Friday. Her 14 year old brother died of the disease Sunday, and her 15 yea rold sister died Thursday. Officials at the World Health Organization have said that preliminary tests indicate the first two siblings died of the H5N1 bird flu strain.

Health officials say that some 25 people in Turkey mostly children are being treated for possible bird flu.

The World Health Organization is investigating the Turkish outbreak - the first one outside east Asia. A WHO spokeswoman in Geneva Fadela Chaib says there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, but such a development could foreshadow a global pandemic.

Meanwhile, Indonesia says it has budgeted 940-million dollars to fight bird flu over the next two years.