Bird flu reports spread in Europe
Iran detects deadly strain in dead swans
Tuesday, February 14, 2006; Posted: 10:17 p.m. EST (03:17 GMT)
CNN) -- Three new countries on Tuesday reported they had detected the deadly strain of bird flu as public health officials battled the H5N1 strain of avian influenza on various fronts across the globe.
Germany and Austria reported apparent cases of H5N1 bird flu in wild swans, becoming the third and fourth European Union nations to detect the virus that has killed 91 people since 2003, according to the World Health Organization. Italy and Greece reported swan deaths from the highly pathogenic strain on Saturday.
Iran's government said H5N1 had been detected in wild swans found dead near the Caspian Sea. (Full story)
Experts had said it was only a matter of time before the H5N1 strain dangerous to humans broke out in Iran, a wintering place for wildfowl that may be carriers. (Migratory patterns)
Both Germany and Austria -- each of which found the virus in two swans -- said they were sending samples of the dead swans to the EU laboratory in Weybridge, Britain, for further confirmation.
German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said Tuesday night that initial tests revealed the virus in two swans on Ruegen Island in northern Germany, and he ordered all fowl to be quarantined by Friday to help keep the disease from spreading, especially among birds that migrate.
Last year bird owners in Germany were required to keep their animals indoors for several months in a similar precaution.
"We expect a confirmation on Thursday," Seehofer said Tuesday night.
"The chance is very high. ... At the moment, where farming livestock is hopefully not affected, we do not have to slaughter."
He said the National Crisis Board would meet Wednesday to discuss the situation with all ministers and all relevant organizations.
"All possible means will be discussed and if necessary implemented so that a transmission from wild birds to farming livestock can be prevented. That is the most crucial point at the moment," Seehofer added.
The Austrian Health Ministry said its dead swans were found in the southern part of the country.
The Health Ministry said it had taken preventive measures, including the creation of a restricted zone within a 3-kilometer (2-mile) radius of where the dead swans were found, near Graz in the Styria region bordering Slovenia, Reuters reports.
In this area, all poultry trade has been banned for at least 30 days. Monitoring for signs of bird flu will be carried out within a further 10 kilometer (6-mile) radius, and poultry bought and sold only with ministry permits.
In the entire area, farmers would have to confine their poultry stock to barns. Poultry markets and shows, and hunting for wild fowl, have been banned, the ministry said.
Italy said Saturday that six wild swans found in the southern regions of Sicily, Puglia and Calabria tested positive for H5N1. Northern Greece also reported cases Saturday.
The avian influenza threat in all affected EU countries will be reviewed by the EU's Food Chain and Animal Health Committee which meets on Wednesday and Thursday, the European Commission said in a separate statement, according to AP.
About 200 million birds have died or been culled around the world since the disease first appeared in China's Guangdong province -- which adjoins Hong Kong -- in 1996.
So far the World Health Organization has confirmed 165 human cases of the disease in a number of nations, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, which has suffered the most fatalities.
Outbreaks have also been detected in Turkey, Croatia, Russia, Azerbaijan and Romania in Europe, Iraq and Iran in the Middle East and in Nigeria, Africa. (Full story)
All but a handful of cases of human sickness have been caused by direct contact with sick birds, suggesting the virus, so far, is unable to move easily among humans.
But health officials have warned that with continued exposure to people, the virus could mutate further and develop that ability.
Officials have expressed fears that the virus is currently acting similarly to the 1918 flu virus, a pandemic that killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million people.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006; Posted: 10:17 p.m. EST (03:17 GMT)
CNN) -- Three new countries on Tuesday reported they had detected the deadly strain of bird flu as public health officials battled the H5N1 strain of avian influenza on various fronts across the globe.
Germany and Austria reported apparent cases of H5N1 bird flu in wild swans, becoming the third and fourth European Union nations to detect the virus that has killed 91 people since 2003, according to the World Health Organization. Italy and Greece reported swan deaths from the highly pathogenic strain on Saturday.
Iran's government said H5N1 had been detected in wild swans found dead near the Caspian Sea. (Full story)
Experts had said it was only a matter of time before the H5N1 strain dangerous to humans broke out in Iran, a wintering place for wildfowl that may be carriers. (Migratory patterns)
Both Germany and Austria -- each of which found the virus in two swans -- said they were sending samples of the dead swans to the EU laboratory in Weybridge, Britain, for further confirmation.
German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said Tuesday night that initial tests revealed the virus in two swans on Ruegen Island in northern Germany, and he ordered all fowl to be quarantined by Friday to help keep the disease from spreading, especially among birds that migrate.
Last year bird owners in Germany were required to keep their animals indoors for several months in a similar precaution.
"We expect a confirmation on Thursday," Seehofer said Tuesday night.
"The chance is very high. ... At the moment, where farming livestock is hopefully not affected, we do not have to slaughter."
He said the National Crisis Board would meet Wednesday to discuss the situation with all ministers and all relevant organizations.
"All possible means will be discussed and if necessary implemented so that a transmission from wild birds to farming livestock can be prevented. That is the most crucial point at the moment," Seehofer added.
The Austrian Health Ministry said its dead swans were found in the southern part of the country.
The Health Ministry said it had taken preventive measures, including the creation of a restricted zone within a 3-kilometer (2-mile) radius of where the dead swans were found, near Graz in the Styria region bordering Slovenia, Reuters reports.
In this area, all poultry trade has been banned for at least 30 days. Monitoring for signs of bird flu will be carried out within a further 10 kilometer (6-mile) radius, and poultry bought and sold only with ministry permits.
In the entire area, farmers would have to confine their poultry stock to barns. Poultry markets and shows, and hunting for wild fowl, have been banned, the ministry said.
Italy said Saturday that six wild swans found in the southern regions of Sicily, Puglia and Calabria tested positive for H5N1. Northern Greece also reported cases Saturday.
The avian influenza threat in all affected EU countries will be reviewed by the EU's Food Chain and Animal Health Committee which meets on Wednesday and Thursday, the European Commission said in a separate statement, according to AP.
About 200 million birds have died or been culled around the world since the disease first appeared in China's Guangdong province -- which adjoins Hong Kong -- in 1996.
So far the World Health Organization has confirmed 165 human cases of the disease in a number of nations, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, which has suffered the most fatalities.
Outbreaks have also been detected in Turkey, Croatia, Russia, Azerbaijan and Romania in Europe, Iraq and Iran in the Middle East and in Nigeria, Africa. (Full story)
All but a handful of cases of human sickness have been caused by direct contact with sick birds, suggesting the virus, so far, is unable to move easily among humans.
But health officials have warned that with continued exposure to people, the virus could mutate further and develop that ability.
Officials have expressed fears that the virus is currently acting similarly to the 1918 flu virus, a pandemic that killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million people.
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