European health officials end a three-day review Wednesday of the
continent's readiness to contain an influenza pandemic with fears
growing that bird flu is closing in on Europe's heartland.
World Health Organization and EU experts have been meeting in
Copenhagen since Monday to analyze the threat of the bird flu virus
mutating into a type that can be spread between humans.
At the start of the meeting, experts said Europe was better prepared
to contain outbreaks of bird flu than Asia because of better resources
and communication between countries.
The deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, which has killed more than 60
people in Asia, has been detected in birds in Romania, Russia and
Turkey, raising fears it could spread to the rest of Europe.
There are 144 known strains of avian flu, most of them harmless.
On Tuesday, the EU said it will ban the import of exotic birds and
impose stricter rules on the private ownership of parrots and other
pet birds. Last weekend, a parrot imported from Suriname died in
quarantine in Britain after contracting the H5N1 strain.
In Germany, officials said that preliminary tests on wild geese found
dead there came back positive for bird flu. And even though the fowl
died of poisoning - not influenza - further tests would be carried to
see whether they carried H5N1.
Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary were also testing birds found dead for
signs of bird flu, underscoring the extreme sensitivity of the issue
even though officials have urged Europeans not to panic.
The virus is hard for humans to contract, and most of the 62 people in
Asia who have died from the disease since 2003 were poultry farmers
directly infected by sick birds.
www.cbc.ca
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