Officials confirm cases of bird flu in Turkish capital

OFFICIALS have confirmed three cases of the deadly strain of bird flu in the Turkish capital Ankara.

They are the country's first suspected cases outside the eastern city of Van, triggering fears that the virus is spreading in Turkey.

Meanwhile, a British laboratory a confirmed the deadly strain in a five-year-old boy, while preliminary tests in Turkey detected H5N1 in an eight-year-old girl. Both children are in intensive care in Van, about 60 miles from the Iranian border.