Brussels, 29/08/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Friday, Finland announced its first suspected case of bird flu, which the health authorities say poses no threat to humans, and which was identified in seagulls in the region of Oulu (North West). The definitive results of tests are expected in three weeks' time, the Finnish Ministry for Agriculture has announced. The spokesperson to Markos Kyprianou, the European Commissioner in charge of Health and Consumer Protection, said on Monday that the discovery of a mildly pathogenic virus of bird flu highlights the need to maintain a high degree of vigilance and to step up surveillance measure for wild birds. He announced that the forthcoming meeting of the standing committee for the food chain and animal health of the EU, which will be given over to the bird flu issue, will take place on 6 September. This meeting will focus mainly on increased surveillance measures for migratory birds (EUROPE 9014).
Matti Aho, head of Finnish veterinary services, as explained in a press release published by the Ministry of Agriculture that “many different types of low pathogenic influenza viruses are circulating in the wild bird population everywhere around the world, and this finding in Finland demonstrates it once more”. Taking pains to allay fears, he confirmed that Europe had not been hit by the highly pathogenic H5N1 form of the bird flu virus. According to experts, low-pathogen bird flu can be found in around 30% of all wild birds.
Furthermore, Italy took a decision on 27 August to step up its border controls, in order to prevent risks of the bird flu virus spreading. In airports, particular attention will be paid to baggage and goods coming from high-risk countries such as China, Russia and Finland. In Sardinia, customs officers have been carrying out checks on specialised businesses selling food products imported from Asia and have seized some 40 kg of chicken meat from one of them, according to the news agency Ansa.