EU moves to tighten bird flu defences
Senior veterinary and human health experts from around the European Union met together for the first time today to co-ordinate efforts to contain the spread of Asia’s deadly bird flu epidemic.
The EU said the experts said the talks focused on addressing the threat of a “possible human pandemic” developing from the avian influenza outbreak.
A statement said the experts want to “establish a synchronised rapid reaction for vets and doctors in the event of an avian influenza outbreak in the EU”.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has swept through poultry populations in large swathes of Asia since 2003, killing at least 63 people and resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of birds. Most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds. But the World Health Organisation has warned that the virus could mutate into a form that can easily spread among humans, possibly triggering a global pandemic that could kill millions.
