Published Date: 2005-09-22 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - Europe (09): EU, preventive measures
Archive Number: 20050922.2802
AVIAN INFLUENZA - EUROPE (09): EU, PREVENTIVE MEASURES
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[1]
Date: 21 Sep 2005
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: BBC [edited]
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/>
The Dutch government has decided to lift a ban on keeping poultry outdoors,
imposed to prevent bird flu infection. 5 million free-range chickens were
moved indoors after news that the disease had spread to Russia led to fears
of infection from wild birds.
The Dutch reversed the decision after advice from migration experts and an
EU warning that the poultry would not be able to be sold as free-range. The
Dutch government was the only one in Europe to impose such a ban. The
European Commission said the risk of infection from wild birds was not
sufficient to justify a ban on Europe's outdoor poultry business.
The Dutch government was also warned that their eggs and meat could not be
labelled as free-range if the ban continued beyond 6 weeks. BBC Rural
Affairs correspondent Tom Heap said that, instead, the Dutch agreed to
targeted "farm-by-farm" measures, including temporary roofing for holdings
on bird migration routes.
The Netherlands is one of the world's biggest meat exporters. 2 years ago
it had to cull about 1/4 of its poultry after an outbreak of bird flu. The
Dutch decision last month followed reports from the Russian government that
a strain of bird flu was moving westward -- and was likely to reach Europe.
The strain found in the Altai, Novosibirsk and Omsk regions has been
identified as H5N1 -- the type that has killed at least 57 people in South
East Asia since 2003.
******
[2]
Date: 21 Sep 2005
From: Mary Marshall <tropical.forestry@btinternet.com>
Source: BBC / Reuters [edited]
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/>
Poultry farmers in the European Union should get ready to act against bird
flu, stepping up surveillance and preparing for mass vaccinations or culls
if the disease takes hold, the EU's food safety agency said on Tuesday.
In a report for the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) said the biggest risk of a major bird flu outbreak was if low
pathogenic strains of the virus mutated into a more dangerous version and
then spread throughout Europe.
The H5N1 strain emerged in Hong Kong in 1997, killing or forcing the
destruction of 1.5 million chickens, geese and ducks. The same strain has
killed 63 people in Asia since late 2003.
While EU rules say such highly pathogenic strains are notified and
controlled, that is not the case for the many low-pathogenic versions. EFSA
said 2 of those strains, H5 and H7, should now also be controlled due to
the risk of mutation. The report also called for greater controls on the
use of poultry faeces as manure.
Estimates of the risk of a bird flu outbreak in the EU vary, but the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation said last month migratory birds flying
north next spring could bring the virus with them.
Earlier on Tuesday, EU commissioner for health and consumer protection
Markos Kyprianou said the bloc's 25 member states should take a coordinated
approach to the disease and not impose piecemeal national measures. "There
is no need for extra measures besides increased surveillance of both
domestic and wild birds," he said.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[See references below for information on imposition of the outdoor ban and
other preventive measures.- Mod.PC]
See Also
Avian influenza - Europe (05): EU, preventive measures 20050825.2511Avian influenza - Europe (03): migratory birds, northern Europe 20050821.2463
Avian influenza - Europe (04): EU, preventive measures 20050824.2498
Avian influenza - European Union: legislation 20050429.1191
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