May 19, 2006

EU says bird flu found in Danish free range poultry

Danish authorities have reported an outbreak of the bird flu virus among poultry on a free range farm in Denmark, the European Commission said Thursday (May 18).

Danish authorities informed Brussels Thursday of the outbreak of the H5 strain of bird flu on the island of Funen.

The farm consists of around 100 birds, including laying hens, ducks, geese and peacocks, the commission said in a statement.

Samples of the contaminated birds are being sent to the European Union's central laboratory in the UK for further tests.

All birds on the farm have been killed and destroyed, and rigorous control and monitoring of other holdings in the surrounding area will be applied, the commission said.

Denmark will now re-impose strict EU-approved security measures, including restricting the movement and sale of farmed birds in the area. Denmark had imposed these measures following the March bird flu finds but subsequently dropped them after a certain time.

"A high level of surveillance was maintained in the area and this enabled the rapid detection of the outbreak in the poultry farm," the commission said in a statement.

The Commission has called an emergency meeting of EU veterinary experts .The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health will meet Friday in Vienna on the sidelines of a scheduled meeting, and adopt a decision confirming the eradication and control measures being taken by the Danish authorities.