Fears mount as Bird flu heads west

There are concerns that a strain of the H5N1 virus, which infects poultry, could be carried west by migrating wild birds. The virus, which is thought to have originated in China, has already reached Russia and Kazakhstan, with confirmed reports of the epidemic coming from 91 villages in seven Russian federal districts since July.

Philip Tod, European Commission spokesman for health and consumer protection, told BBC Breakfast, “We hope that they will issue some recommendations as to how we can increase our vigilance, perhaps by increasing surveillance of wild birds, and by advising farmers to be more vigilant when checking their poultry.”

The Dutch government has acted to bring all chickens indoors in an attempt to stop them catching the virus from wild fowl, with the Germans planning to do the same in three weeks’ time. A different strain of the virus shattered the Dutch chicken industry in 2003 and killed one vet.

Samuel Jutzi, Director of Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said, “Bird flu will probably persist for many years in some of the countries that recently had disease outbreaks. Wild birds, particularly ducks, are considered natural hosts of the bird flu virus and it will therefore be very difficult to completely eliminate the disease.”