August 2, 2006

Italy prepares for possible late summer bird flu outbreak

Italian health officials said Tuesday (Aug 1) they are preparing for possible outbreaks of a deadly strain of bird flu in coming months as migratory birds begin flying from Asia and eastern Europe toward Africa.

"Bird flu is not a random or occasional emergency. It's a virus that is always present, and we have to learn to live with it," Health Minister Livia Turco said.

Birds carrying the flu could begin arriving in Europe on Aug 20, with the highest risk period in September and October, Undersecretary Giampaolo Patta told a news conference.

The main danger comes from birds on their way to Africa from already infected areas such as Siberia and the Danube Delta, Patta said.

In February, 19 wild swans that landed in southern Italy from the Balkans tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. Measures taken to counter the disease included creating surveillance zones of up to 10 kilometres around the reported cases, restricting poultry movement and banning hunting in the area.

The Health Ministry said those measures had proven effective in containing the disease, with no reports of infected domestic poultry or human cases in Italy.

Agriculture Minister Paolo De Castro also announced Tuesday that the Italian government and the European Union would finance EUR45 million in aid to Italy's poultry industry, which was hit by an 80 percent fall in sales during the bird flu scare.