EU praises Turkish response to bird flu

The EU has praised Turkey for cooperation over bird flu but advised neighbouring states to step up surveillance to stop the disease spreading.

The European Commission held a day-long meeting of national EU experts on communicable diseases yesterday. The meeting was also attended by UN and WHO officials.

"The Turkish authorities are commended for their transparent risk communication policy and collaboration with the European Commission and third countries and the international organisations competent in this area," the EU executive said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Brussels banned imports of untreated feathers from six countries close to Turkey.

While the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has been found in wild birds and poultry across large parts of Turkey, and killed three children in the country, the commission says there is still no reason to fear an increased risk to humans.

The human cases of H5N1 detected in Turkey were all linked to exposure to infected birds and no case of human-to-human transmission has been documented to date.

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