International Conference over Bird Flu

A conference is held in Canada to prepare countries against an avian influenza pandemic, aiming at collaboration and coordination on a global scale. The World Health Organisation Director General asked rich countries to help the weaker ones in this fight. What is more, the Indonesian Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that another person lost his life to the bird flu, thus increasing the number of victims to four. In the meantime, new avian influenza outbreaks have been located in China, Russia, Siberia and eastern Croatia. In Germany, 25 migratory birds were found dead at the banks of a lake, while a decision has been issued to confine all birds in 21 French regions. "In Greece, there are no bird flu cases and inspection mechanisms are sticking to the action plan," repeated the Development Ministry on Monday, reassuring there is no danger from consuming Greek poultry products. In Brussels, the Commission gave the green light for an embargo on wild bird imports in the EU, until November 30. In the meantime, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advised consumers to avoid raw eggs and undercooked poultry, in order to avoid the spread of the virus.


EU Adopts Embargo on Pet Bird Trade Imports
Today, after a proposal by the Commission, the EU adopted a decision for a temporary embargo on wild bird trade imports, until November 30. This decision is taken after the discovery, of quarantined parrot, which died from H5N1 and was imported from South America, in Great Britain. After the implementation of the measure, the citizens can bring up to five wild birds from trips to countries abroad, under the condition that they undergo a 30-day quarantine.