Europe planning bird flu measures

Some countries are ordering poultry owners to keep birds indoors

A further outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed in Russia as European experts consider new measures to stop the spread of the disease.

Reports say tests have confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 flu strain in samples taken from birds in the central Russian region of Tambov.

There is also pressure for an EU-wide ban on importing live wild birds.

An increasing number of EU countries have also ordered farmers to ensure poultry is kept indoors.

Click here to see areas affected by the H5N1 virus

The Russian outbreak is the latest in a country where bird flu has already decimated flocks in several regions in Siberia and the Urals in recent months.

The H5N1 strain has killed at least 60 people in Asia.

Experts have downplayed the threat to people, as the virus does not spread easily among humans, but they warn of a potential deadly flu pandemic if it mutates to a more contagious form.

The discovery of H5N1 in an imported parrot which died in quarantine in the UK has led to calls for a ban on live wild bird imports to the country.

Pet poultry

The European Commission is due to meet on Tuesday to discuss an EU-wide ban.

Europe's Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou was expected to propose increasing preventative measures which have already led to bans on imports into the EU of live birds from Turkey, Romania, the Greek island of Chios, Russia and Thailand.

H5N1 BIRD FLU VIRUS Principally an avian disease, first seen in humans in Hong Kong in 1997 Almost all human cases thought to be contracted from birds Possible cases of human-to-human transmission in Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam, but none confirmed Q&A: Bird flu Bird flu jab shows promise Impact on birds and humans

The Commission is expected to add Croatia to the list after bird flu was found in samples from wild swans in the east of the country.

The Netherlands has joined Austria, Switzerland and Germany urging people who keep birds to take safety measures.

The Dutch government said people who keep poultry as pets near areas where wild birds gather should keep them indoors from Monday until mid-November.

The Dutch poultry industry suffered massive losses after an outbreak of bird flu two years ago. The BBC's Geraldine Coughlan says keeping ducks and chickens as pets is a popular hobby in the Netherlands.

Bird-lovers in risk areas now have to shut their pets indoors to prevent contact with wild birds and their droppings around spots where migratory birds rest. Similar measures apply to commercial and free-range poultry farms in risk areas.

Chinese measures

The United Nations has said that the H5N1 strain is endemic in poultry in China, which is stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of bird flu to humans.

The Chinese government has announced that it is sending inspectors to farms, homes and markets to make regular checks on poultry and reinforce disease prevention controls.

Last week, the country's state media reported that at least 2,600 birds were killed by the H5N1 virus at a farm in the northern region of inner Mongolia.

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