Bosnia says H5N1 bird flu found in two wild swans

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Bosnia’s veterinary office said on
Monday tests at the European Union reference laboratory had
confirmed its first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in
two wild swans.

“Results from the reference laboratory in Weybridge (in
England) were positive, H5N1 was isolated,” veterinary office
head Jozo Bagaric told a news conference.

The swans were culled 10 days ago at Malo Plivsko Jezero
lake near the western town of Jajce. Tests at Bosnia’s
reference laboratory returned positive for H5 bird flu virus a
week ago.

Veterinary authorities culled more than a dozen swans at
the lake and almost 4,500 domestic poultry from nearby
households. They had earlier banned hunting of wild fowl and
ordered all poultry to be kept indoors.

Bosnia has also banned imports of poultry and poultry
products from bird flu-hit countries.

“All preventive measures stay in force,” Bagaric said,
explaining that an intensive control of wild fowl would be
conducted within a radius of three kilometres (two miles) over
the next two weeks.

Blood analyses of up to 1,500 poultry based on random
sample will be also conducted within the radius of 10
kilometres, regarded as endangered.

The virus killed more than 90 people in Asia and the Middle
East since late 2003. It remains essentially an animal disease
which humans contract only through close contact with infected
birds.

Bosnia is situated in the Western Balkans on one of the
routes migratory birds from central and northern Europe use. It
borders Croatia, which last week reported its third case of
H5N1 in four months.

Bagaric said that he expected more H5N1 cases in spring,
when migratory birds begin to return to natural reservates in
southern and northern Bosnia.

“Based on the risk analyses, we think that March is a
critical period and we expect … new incidents in future,” he
told a news conference.