Greece finds strain of bird flu in a turkey
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-18 11:09

Greece said on Monday it had detected one turkey with bird flu on a remote island in the Aegean Sea and was conducting tests to see if it was a deadly strain of the virus.

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has been detected in neighboring Turkey and in Romania and both countries have killed thousands of poultry.

In Asia dozens of people have died from the deadly strain of bird flu but so far no human cases have been reported in Europe.

The agriculture ministry said the sample that tested positive to bird flu (H5) antibodies will be further examined to "to verify the correctness of the analysis."

"Authorities have been ordered to take all measures as if dealing with a suspected case," said Agriculture Minister Evangelos Basiakos, adding that the detected sample would be sent for further tests.

The agriculture ministry said the sample from one of nine living birds from a small poultry farm of about 20 turkeys on the tiny island of Inousses off the island of Chios had tested positive.

Basiakos said measures will be taken to isolate the village of about 400 people.

"There is no need for concern. The farm is in an isolated part of the island," he added.

Chios prefect Polidoras Lambrinoudis told Reuters no poultry or eggs were allowed to leave the island.

"We will cull the other 20 birds or so and we will medically examine all members of the farmer's family," he said.

MIGRATORY PATH

Chios prefect Polidoras Lambrinoudis said the small island was right on the path of migratory birds.

"They stop over at Inousses from northern Europe on their way south. This is probably the busiest month for migratory birds in our area," he said.

He told Reuters no poultry or eggs were allowed to leave the island, while the rest of the birds will be killed and the farmer's family medically tested.

The farmer, Dimitris Komninoudis, told reporters he initially thought dead turkeys he recently found on his farm had been killed by stray dogs.

"The next day I found some more so I decided to call a vet, who then took samples from living birds as well," he said. "I do not sell the birds. I grow them for my family."

Fears of a pandemic of bird flu have prompted governments around the world to test suspected cases, while vaccine stocks were being snapped up by concerned people.

The European Commission said it was preparing to impose a ban on the movement of live poultry and products from Chios, where local authorities had already agreed to a temporarily ban "as a precautionary measure."

"The EU decision (on the ban) will be adopted as soon as the national reference laboratory has confirmed the serological results," it said, adding the results were due on Tuesday.

The EU said it was awaiting the outcome of further virological tests to see which strain of bird flu it was.

Greece was also waiting for results on dozens of other tests on dead birds found on the northeastern Evros delta, a busy migratory bird path. Bulgaria and other Balkan countries have also been testing birds.

The H5N1 strain first emerged in Hong Kong in 1997 and according to the World Health Organization has killed 60 people.