Turkey steps up slaughter in bid to contain bird flu

Frightened villagers in Turkey’s south-east, hit by the deadly strain of bird flu, handed over their chickens and other fowl for slaughter today and said they were ready to stop raising birds to minimise the chances of getting infected.

Turkish authorities stepped up the slaughter of chickens, geese and turkeys this week as the number of people infected with the deadly H5N1 strain climbed to 18.