ANKARA, Jan. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- A third child from the same family of the previous two bird flu victims died of the fatal disease on early Friday in eastern Turkey, the Anatolian state news agency said.

    Hulya Kocyigit, 11, was the sister of Mehmet Ali, 14, who died last weekend, and of Fatma, 15, who died on Thursday. Their another six-year-old brother is also being treated for the same disease at the Van hospital.

    The children lived in a remote rural district of eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. They all lived closely with poultry.

    According to the head doctor at the hospital, there are currently about two dozens of people being treated as suspected bird flu patients, with some of them in critical condition. Most of the patients are children.

    The government is culling thousands of poultry across several eastern Turkish provinces as a precaution. It is also sending extra supplies of anti-bird flu medicine to the region. Enditem