December 10, 2007

Fourth bird flu outbreak hits Poland

Poland detected the fourth bird flu outbreak in the central part of the country, as confirmed by Ewa Lech, chief veterinarian.

The latest outbreak was detected at a poultry farm some 50 kilometres from the three sites found last week, where thousands of birds were being raised.

Lech informed that a 3-kilometre quarantine zone has been set up near the site.

Last week, more than 11,000 turkeys were culled after the deadly avian virus was discovered in three poultry farms near the central city of Plock, some 100 km northwest of Warsaw.

On Monday, Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said there was so far no threat to people's lives and health.

The minister pledged that affected farmers would receive appropriate compensation for slaughtered stock.

The recent outbreaks were Poland's first cases of bird flu since a number of infected wild swans were discovered near the northern city of Torun in 2006.

The EU and Poland's other neighbouring countries have imposed a ban on poultry products from the affected region.