By Martin Banks - 21st June 2007
The European commission today confirmed a suspected outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in the Czech Republic.
The strain, known to be deadly to humans, has infected animals at a poultry farm in the east of the country.
A commission spokesman said the outbreak occurred on a farm of 6000 turkeys and was detected following the death of about 1800 birds.
Samples have now been sent for tests to the community reference laboratory in Weybridge in the UK.
A protection zone of 3km radius and an additional 10km surveillance zone have been imposed to prevent the disease spreading to other parts of the country.
Strict movement controls are in place and poultry must be kept indoors, said the spokesman.
Prior to this latest outbreak, 14 wild swans were found to be infected with the H5N1 virus in the southern part of the country last year.
The H5N1 form of bird flu is the most dangerous. It is highly pathogenic and extremely contagious among birds, both by air and contact with faeces.
Mortality is close to 100 per cent, with many birds dying on the same day they were infected.
The EU has banned imports of poultry products from countries with bird flu outbreaks.
As of February 2007, H5N1 cases in animals have been recorded in over 50 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.
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