Originally published September 7 2005
EU experts discuss bird flu strategies
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
European Union veterinary experts held a meeting to begin discussing strategies to deal with the possibility of the deadly avian flu spreading into Europe from Russia.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2005 BRUSSELS European Union veterinary experts on Thursday discussed concerns that an outbreak of bird flu in Russia could spread to Europe and weighed what precautions the EU's 25 member nations should take, as experts in Britain warned that avian flu would "inevitably" be brought there by migrating birds.
The EU already has banned imports of Russian poultry and is unlikely to order farmers across the EU to bring chickens indoors, as the Netherlands did this week.
The EU Commission said that although no decisions were expected to be made at the meeting, the experts "may adopt conclusions with recommendations on how to increase Europe's vigilance against avian influenza."
An EU spokesman, Philip Tod, said the bloc had developed extensive measures over the years to monitor and combat outbreaks of bird flu.
Bird flu viruses pose no immediate threat to humans, but they can mutate and spread to other animals and humans.
Russia's chief public health official voiced cautious optimism Thursday that the bird flu that has killed domestic fowl in parts of Siberia has stabilized.
But Kazakhstan said it was probing possible new cases.
Kazakhstan's Agriculture Ministry said Thursday that it was treating the deaths of around a dozen wildfowl in the south of the country as suspicious.
The outbreak in Russia was detected in July in five regions of Siberia and one district in the Ural Mountains, the frontier between European and Asian Russia.
Tod said the Russian authorities had assured the EU that bird flu has not swept across the Urals to European Russia.
In London, president of the British Veterinary Association, Dr. Bob McCracken, said: "Wild birds that have migratory pathways over Europe and the U.K. will become infected.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml