Deadly bird flu spreads

Berlin - Three more countries said on Tuesday that they had detected cases of deadly bird flu in wild swans, with Germany, Iran and Austria the latest to find the virus that had killed 91 people worldwide.

Austria and Germany became the third and fourth European Union countries to report H5N1 bird flu, just three days after the bloc's first instances were confirmed by Italy and Greece.

Germany said its results came from initial tests. Both countries said samples of the dead birds had been sent to the European Union's reference laboratory in Britain for confirmation.

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 might be carriers. Neighbouring Iraq, Azerbaijan and Turkey had already reported outbreaks.

Human bird flu claims 91

According to the World Health Organisation, the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the virus had killed at least 91 people in Asia and the Middle East.

Experts feared H5N1 might mutate into a form that could spread between people and caused a pandemic that could kill millions.

New cases of H5 bird flu were found in Romania, Europe's largest wetlands and a major migratory route for wild birds.

Tests were under way in Britain to see if the new samples were H5N1, of which Romania and neighbour, Bulgaria, had already had cases.

Keeping poultry outdoors

Germany said it would bring forward to February 17 a ban on keeping poultry outdoors, and Italy said police had impounded more than 80 000 chickens and 7 000 eggs from farms in the south that were not respecting health norms.

Across Europe and into Africa, countries had reported sharp drops in poultry sales as the number of outbreaks grows.

Hassan Mountacir, a butcher in the central market in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, said: "I was buying 150 chickens every day for my stall before the flu appeared. Now I'm down to 10 or 20 at the most."

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that the virus could soon spread further into Europe as migrating birds returned after wintering in Africa.

'Poultry was everywhere'

Samuel Jutzi of FAO said: "We need to be aware that there's a real risk for Europe when the birds migrate northwards this spring."

Health experts were trying to warn people of the dangers of the virus that was contracted through direct contact with infected birds, but were struggling in countries such as Nigeria, where poultry was everywhere - on the streets and on buses.

International experts were in Nigeria to advise authorities on what preventive measures they should be taking, including closing live-poultry markets and restricting poultry movements.

Fadela Chaib of the WHO said: "Above all, it is an animal disease and if one wants to avoid there being any human cases, the virus must really be stamped out in the bird population."

- Reuters