EU issues bird flu warning
European Union states should be prepared for a potential bird flu pandemic and stockpile anti-viral drugs.
The warning came from the EU’s health commissioner Markos Kyprianou as the Commission confirmed that a bird flu virus outbreak in Turkey is a strain which is dangerous to humans.
The H5N1 strain has been held responsible for more than 60 deaths in Asia in the last two years but only one is believed to have died after catching the virus from another human.
According the the BBC, Kyprianou advised seasonal flu vaccinations for populations considered to be at risk and said governments should focus on stockpiling viral drugs.
He reportedly confirmed that the virus found in poultry in north west Turkey was the deadly strain and said: “There is a direct relationship with viruses found in Russia, Mongolia and China.”
The export of live birds and feathers from Turkey has been banned until April.
The EU has also banned bird and poultry products from Romania after tests on three ducks found the presence of a weaker strain of bird flu.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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