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European Commission
Avian flu: EU prevention bears fruit
Avian flu: EU prevention bears fruit
Several measures to prevent, detect or contain the H5N1 virus in the EU have managed to stop the virus from spreading up to now. The future evolution of the situation is difficult to foresee because the H5N1 virus is still present in many countries, for example in Asia. The European Commission and the Member States constantly review the state of the disease outbreaks in the world and adapt the surveillance and the control measures accordingly. We have visited a Hungarian farm which was the departure point for an outbreak of avian flu that spread to 28 other Hungarian farms. As a result, a million poultry fowl had to be destroyed. We illustrate the measures taken by the farmers and the Ministry for Agriculture to prevent the spread of the disease, including biosafety rules. We also filmed the monitoring of dead wild birds in the Netherlands, which allowed the rapid detection of highly pathogenic viruses. Also in the Netherlands, we filmed vaccination measures for domestic poultry. The video report also highlights the role of the Veterinary Laboratory Agency in London when it comes to avian flu. They receive samples from the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, analyse them and work closely with affected countries in order to reach an early diagnosis and to understand how the virus is spreading.
European Commission | October 19, 2006
