March 2, 2006

 

Bird flu reaches Sweden, second case in Switzerland

 

An aggressive bird flu virus likely to be H5N1 has reached Sweden, the government has announced. The virus was found in wild birds in the south of the country.

 

If confirmed, Sweden would be the ninth country in the European Union to be hit by the lethal bird flu strain.

 

The National Veterinary Institute has examined between 35 and 40 dead birds, of which two were found to have been carrying the virus.

 

Sweden's agriculture minister Ann-Christin Nykvist told a press conference on Tuesday that the discovery was "serious but not unexpected."

 

She said that the priority now was to collect dead birds and to protect domestic flocks.

 

The Federal Veterinary Office said protection and observation zones would be set up around both areas affected by bird flu. But it stressed that there was no danger to the local population.

 

The samples from the dead swan will now be sent to a laboratory in Weybridge, England, for further testing, it added. Results are expected in around a week.

 

Meanwhile, Switzerland discovered its second case of bird flu in a dead swan found on the banks of Lake Constance.

 

Bird flu has been spreading rapidly outside Switzerland's borders. In Germany, numerous cases have been reported.

 

The German authorities have reported several cases of bird flu around Lake Constance, which borders Austria, Germany and Switzerland

 

The Federal Veterinary Office said on Wednesday both birds had carried the H5 virus. Tests being carried out in England will confirm if they died of the deadly H5N1 strain.