Nine people under observation after bird flu discovery

Turkish officials put nine people under medical observation today after reports that 40 pigeons in their neighbourhood mysteriously died, as officials confirmed that earlier bird deaths in the country were caused by a virulent strain of bird flu.

In Kiziksa, where the earlier deaths occurred, veterinary officials in full-body protective suits were working to cull the few remaining birds in the village.

Officials already have culled some 8,600 birds in the western Turkish village and vowed to kill all within a two-mile radius of Kiziksa as a precaution against the highly contagious avian disease spreading.

A veterinary official said the work would finish later this evening.