comments made by the head of the Health Ministry’s basic health

services department to the official Anatolia news agency.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the virus was of the H5N1

strain, which can be deadly to humans, AFP said. Four of the

infected people are from the northern provinces of Samsun,

Kastamonu and Corum, and the fifth is from the eastern province

of Van, AFP reported.

A total of 14 people, including two who died last week and

the five mentioned in today’s report, have been struck by the

disease, according to the news agency.

Bird flu has also infected people in Cambodia, China,

Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, killing at least 76 since 2003,

according to the World Health Organization. At least 146 people

have been infected, the agency’s Web site said.