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H5N1 bird flu found in Germany
15/02/2006 11:12 - (SA)
Brussels - Dead swans found on a German island were infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 form of bird flu, the latest EU country to be afflicted, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
German authorities have launched precautionary measures, including setting up a 10km surveillance zone around the spot where the dead swans were found on the island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea.
A tighter 3km protection area will also be set up, said the European Union's executive.
The executive said: "In the protection zone, poultry must be kept indoors, movement of poultry is banned except directly to the slaughterhouse, and the dispatch of meat outside the zone is forbidden except under very limited conditions.
"In both the protection and surveillance zone, farm bio-security measures must be strengthened, hunting of wild birds is banned and disease awareness of poultry owners and their families must be carried out."
The German cases come amid the fast-moving development of avian influenza in Europe, with cases of H5N1 confirmed in Greece and Italy over the weekend, and in Austria on Tuesday.
EU newcomer state Slovenia is also investigating a suspected case found near its border with Austria, as is Croatia.
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed around 90 people in Asia, Turkey and northern Iraq.
The German case emerged as EU veterinary experts met in Brussels for two days of talks on how to respond to the latest crisis.
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