A Turkish official said on Tuesday that bird flu cases may be reported in other parts of Turkey, most probably in wetlands, besides the Manyas region in northwestern Balikesir province, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

"We must take necessary measures and inform the public of bird flu," warned Mustafa Altuntas, chairman of the Turkish Veterinarians' Union.

"The bird flu virus spreads by migrating birds. There is a great possibility that the bird flu virus will spread to other wet lands in the country," he said.

Bird flu virus can spread by excrements and glandular secretion of sick animals. Over 7,000 chickens and turkeys have been culled in Turkey till now, according to Altuntas.

The official said the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and RuralAffairs will increase the number of veterinarians to 6,000 from the present 2,000.

Meanwhile, Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Mehdi Eker tried to play down the threat posed by bird flu, saying the virus detected in Balikesir has been exaggerated.

"We are witnessing a war of words. Everyone tries to make a statement, some of these exaggerated, and to make news stories that are far from reality," noted Eker.

Eker said so far there has been only one case of bird flu detected in Manyas, Balikesir.

The Turkish government has made every effort to avoid the spread of the virus. "We are ready to deal with bird flu in every way," added Eker.

Only hours after the European Union (EU) imposed a ban on poultry imports from Turkey, Turkish Justice Minister and cabinet spokesman Cemil Cicek announced that the bird flu disease that affected a village of Balikesir was contained and there were no new outbreaks.

Turkey continued to slaughter thousands of domestic fowl.

However, bird flu has not been confirmed by expert laboratories and it is unknown whether the poultry deaths involve the H5N1 strain of bird flu that experts are tracking for fear it could mutate and transform into a dangerous human virus.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2005)