Poland’s turn to confirm H5N1 in swans

The Polish authorities have confirmed the existence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in wild swans near Warsaw.

The Polish authorities have confirmed the avian influenza virus H5N1 in dead swans in the city of Torun, north-west of Warsaw. Commonly agreed precautionary safety measures, currently applied in all affected EU countries, were immediately put in place.

In the EU-25, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus has already been reported in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden. Affected, non-EU countries near the EU include Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and the Ukraine.

The EU’s veterinary experts will hold their next meeting on 7-8 March 2006 to discuss the latest developments on avian influenza. The medical experts will also discuss measures to prevent the spread of H5N1 to susceptible birds kept in zoos in the member states.

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