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Bird flu reaches western Europe

John Hooper

Tests on swans found dead in Italy and Greece confirm presence of the virus

Rome: Bird flu has reached western Europe for the first time, it was announced on Saturday, as three new countries reported wild birds infected with the H5N1 strain.

Italy's Health Minister, Francesco Storace, said that tests carried out on swans found dead in Sicily and the south of mainland Italy showed that the birds had the deadly variant, as did three migratory swans found dead at Thessaloniki, the Greek Government confirmed.

Speaking after a press conference in Rome, Mr. Storace said: "Of the 17 dead swans, the majority [of deaths] were as a result of H5N1. But that does not mean all [were]." He said he was awaiting further test results from a Government-run laboratory in Padua. In Taranto, Puglia, a bird died of one of the most virulent varieties of the disease. "The virus has got to Italy," Mr. Storace said. But he appealed to the public not to panic or to stop eating chicken. "Chicken has nothing to do with it," he said.

Concern over bird flu has taken a heavy toll on Italy's poultry sector as the virus has edged westwards.

On Saturday, a spokesman for one of the country's largest agricultural co-operatives said that it had already caused 30,000 lay-offs and a loss of sales amounting to Euro 550 million. Mr. Storace said the remaining swans were discovered dead or sick on Sicily.

"The migratory routes from the south appear to have moved towards Italy because of exceptional cold in the Balkan region," he said. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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