'Progress' on European flu plans

There are fears the bird flu virus will mutate

Europe is making "significant progress" in planning for a flu pandemic, international health experts have said.

The World Health Organization said only four out of its 52 European members, including Tajikistan, had no plan.

The three other countries will be named later on Wednesday at a meeting in Copenhagen.

Experts say a flu pandemic is likely to happen, probably from a mutation of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

However, they say pandemic planning must take into account that an outbreak could be caused by another strain of flu.

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Experts agree European countries need to coordinate their preparedness, as the flu virus "knows no boundaries".

Each country's plan will have to set details on how it would cope, covering how cases would be identified, and how many courses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu it needs for its population.

The UK government's plan has been praised by the WHO. An updated version was published last week.

'Help for states'

Gudjon Magnusson, of the WHO's European regional office's - which oversees Europe and the countries which made up the former Soviet Union - said progress was being made on flu planning in Europe.

He told the AFP news agency: "Our last survey in March showed that only 31 out of the WHO's 52 European members had set up national preparedness plans to combat an influenza pandemic.

"Today only four have failed to do so, due mainly to political reasons."

He added: "We intend now to actively help these states, which it is no secret to say, include countries like Tajikistan."

The WHO had visited six member states in eastern and western Europe this year to inspect their preparedness plans, and Dr Magnusson said it was satisfied with all the arrangements made.

The H5N1 virus has devastated the bird population of South East Area.

So far, 118 people have been diagnosed with the disease in Southeast Asia, and 67 have died.

The highly pathogenic avian strain of H5N1 that is circulating in poultry and other birds in Southeast Asia has now been identified in five countries in WHO's European region: Britain, Croatia, Romania, Russia and Turkey.

However, there have been no human cases in these countries and the WHO deems the risk to people as low.

Last week, the European Commission said it was considering setting aside a "solidarity fund" of a billion euros (£677m), to be used in the event of a flu pandemic.

The money would be used to buy antiviral drugs and develop vaccines to combat the disease.

The ability of EU nations to coordinate their efforts to tackle a flu pandemic is to be tested in a simulation exercise later this year, in which officials in command centres across Europe will react to imaginary scenarios.

No healthcare staff will be mobilised.

The European Commission has banned bird and poultry imports from affected countries.

H5N1 has killed more than 60 people in South-East Asia since 2003.