Greece fears outbreak

Greece said it found bird flu in a wild duck shot by a hunter, adding that
more tests were underway to establish whether the virus was the strain that
can kill humans.

The H5 virus, most of whose sub-types are only lethal to birds, was
confirmed in the migratory duck killed in a coastal area of the central
prefecture of Fthiotida [Map at ],
the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Samples from the bird will be sent to the EU Reference Laboratory for avian
influenza in England to determine whether the virus is in fact H5N1, the
highly pathogenic strain that has killed 152 people in the Far East, the
Middle East and China since 2003.

The relevant European Union authorities have also been informed, the
ministry said.

This is the first H5 case reported in Greece since the summer. Earlier in
2006, the Greek authorities confirmed 33 cases of H5N1 between February and
March, all in wild birds.

Yet even though no domestic poultry cases turned up, demand for chicken in
the country took a serious blow for weeks.

Local authorities in Fthiotida have been advised to ban the transport of
live poultry near the area where the duck was hunted.

Poultry owners have been warned to keep their flocks indoors, and the
public advised to alert the authorities to all bird carcass finds, the
ministry said.

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ProMED-mail

Chicken pens can contaminate flood waters

Officials disinfect flooded poultry farms to prevent bird flu

PATHUM THANI, Nov 19 (TNA) – Thailand's provincial livestock authorities countrywide have been ordered to disinfect poultry farms, especially those located in flood-hit provinces, to prevent further outbreaks of the deadly bird flu disease during this season, a senior official said Sunday.

Yukol Limlamthong, director-general of the Department of Livestock Development, said that while there have been no reported cases of new bird flu outbreaks in the past 108 days, provincial government livestock workers have been instructed to spray the disinfectants at farms, especially those in flood-hit provinces, when the floodwaters recede.

He said that concerned officials are also researching bird flu in chickens raised in open area regarding the possibility that the poultry would have sufficient immunity against the disease.

Senior officials from six countries – Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand—wrapped up a three-day meeting here last week to find ways to contain the spread of animal-borne contagious diseases and to produce more effective vaccines for domestic livestock use after countries in the region have been hit by avian influenza for the past few years.

They agreed that the first priority in preventing the disease was to lay out measures on cross-border animal transport in the region as a number of countries shared common borders.

Mr. Yukol said that follow-up talks between the six countries would now be held on a bilateral basis. Thailand met with Malaysia last month, he said, while a similar meeting will take place with Myanmar next month. (TNA)-E111