Poland mobilises after outbreak
06/03/2006 13:02  - (SA)  

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Warsaw - The deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in two dead swans found in Poland, experts at Poland's national laboratory said on Monday.

"Yes, we have confirmed that it is definitely H5N1. We are following all the procedures in force in the European Union. The samples will now be examined by the (EU) reference laboratory in Weybridge (England)," the deputy director of Pulawy laboratory, Jan Zmudzinksi, told AFP.

Authorities had already begun mobilising on Sunday after veterinary experts announced that two dead swans found in the northern town of Torun were "probably" infected with the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu.

A crisis unit was up and running in Torun, and a hygiene-security zone established in a 3km radius of where the birds were found on the banks of the Vistula.

Poland has been on high alert for bird flu for some days since several cases of the virus were detected in Germany, near the border with Poland, as well as in neighbouring Slovakia.

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