November 21, 2005

Croatian authorities shoot down swans for bird flu test

Croatian health authorities shot down five swans in eastern Croatia to test whether the bird flu virus that had been detected in a migratory flock there about a month ago remains a threat, an agriculture ministry official said Friday.

A total of eight swans were discovered to have been infected with the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus near a nature park in eastern Croatia last month.

Experts said the birds most likely flew in from the northeast.

The area where the swans were found dead was quickly cordoned off and disinfected, while thousands of domestic birds, mostly chickens and other poultry, were culled to prevent a spread of the disease.

"Five swans from the area were shot down today to test the bird population, to see if there remains any threat," said Mladen Pavic, a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture.

Results of the tests were expected to be released in a few days.

Bird flu has decimated poultry flocks and scientists fear the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that can be easily passed to and between people and spark a human flu pandemic.

The virus has killed at least 67 people in Asia since 2003, most of whom regularly handled poultry. However, no one in Europe is known have contracted the disease.

The deadly strain has also appeared in birds in Romania, Turkey and Russia.