|
|
|
Opt-in for Free Newsletter, special discount
offers, drugs information & latest pharmacy news.
|
 |
|
EU approves new bird flu measures
16 Feburary 2006
The European Union has approved new measures to try
to halt the spread of bird flu across the continent.
Health officials from European countries agreed the steps at a two-day
meeting in Brussels.
EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said that all necessary measures
were being taken and the public should not be "unduly alarmed".
This comes as Slovenia confirmed a swan found in the north of the country
had the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.
In the last week, H5N1 has
also been confirmed in wild swans in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece
and Italy. Hungary is currently testing dead swans for the virus. Steps
approved at the meeting included the automatic creation of 3km (two-mile)
protection zones and 10 km surveillance zones around outbreaks in wild
birds.
If the virus were to transfer from wild birds to poultry, "buffer
zones" that could cover an entire region would be established and
the transport of poultry restricted within them.
"The establishment of these risk areas will help to define a disaster-free
part of the country, which is obviously good for trade purposes,"
Philip Tod, a European Commission food safety spokesman, said. The measures
are expected to come into force in the next few days.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4721798.stm
|
