growth of avian flu

Rome - The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu continues to spread throughout Asia, Africa and Europe, threatening people, animals and economies, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned on Monday.

The spread of the virulent virus had slowed, the FAO noted, but it was still continuing its advance across the globe with 55 countries now having reported infections, up from 45 in April.

The Rome-based organisation said veterinary controls must be strengthened, particularly in developing countries, in a bid to limit the spread of H5N1 among domestic birds.

"We don't expect to eradicate the H5N1 virus from possible wild bird reservoirs but we can contain and control it fully in the poultry sector," FAO's chief veterinary officer Joseph Domenech said.

This "is the best insurance we have that it will not mutate into a virus that is easily transmissible among humans", he continued.

"We need to find the weak links in the global effort to contain H5N1 and strengthen them.

"That means building up veterinary and laboratory services in the poorer countries of the world, where public services are hampered by a general lack of funds," Domenech stressed.

According to World Health Organisation figures, 239 people have been infected with the virulent H5N1 strain of the virus since 2003 and 140 have died, mostly in Asian nations.

More than 220-million birds have died from the virus or been culled in a bid to limit contamination.

The FAO said the southern Balkan area and the Caucasus region were at high risk of infection as they were prime resting grounds for migratory wild birds and health checks and security measures in the poultry industry were still rudimentary.

It also expressed concerns about the continued H5N1 spread through Asian countries and said that Ivory Coast and Nigeria in Africa were also struggling with the virus. - Sapa-AFP