Biologycal Hazard - Europe Bulgaria

Biologycal Hazard - Europe
Event summary

GLIDE Number     BH-20060721-6855-BGR           
Event type     Biologycal Hazard     Date / time     21/07/2006 - 05:47:53 (Military Time, UTC)
Country     Bulgaria     Area     Turkey border
County / State     Khaskovo     City     Slanchogled
Cause of event     Unknow     Log date     21/07/2006 - 05:47:53 (Military Time, UTC)
Damage level     Not or Not data      Time left     -
Latitude:     N 41° 54.871     Longitude:     E 26° 5.756
Number of deaths:     Not or Not data     Number of injured persons:     Not or Not data
Evacuated:     -     Infected     -
-          

DESCRIPTION
Bulgarian authorities reported Thursday the first case of bird flu with domestic fowl on the territory of the country - in the village of Slanchogled (sunflower), near Kurdzhali. Veterinaries have undertaken checks of local fowl after birds were found to die in bulks. Yet, it is not confirmed whether there is the deadly strain of H5N1. Situation Update No. 1 On 22.07.2006 at 05:39 GMT+2


http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?id=6855&lang=eng

Bulgarian bird flu unlikely virulent strain
July 24, 2006


Bird flu reported in Bulgaria last week is most probably not from the highly virulent H5 or H7 strain, potentially dangerous for humans, veterinarian officials said yesterday.

Preliminary tests of samples from the affected area showed the presence also of the Newcastle disease that might have contributed for the mass deaths of around 200 birds.

Bulgaria reported its first outbreak of the avian flu in domestic poultry on Thursday in a village near its border with Greece and Turkey and has culled around 1,500 fowl since then to prevent the virus from spreading.

"This is a mixed infection between bird flu and Newcastle disease. The bird flu virus we have isolated has so far tested negative for both H5 and H7 strains," said Georgi Georgiev, a scientist with the Bulgarian Veterinarian Institute.

He said Bulgaria will still send the samples to an EU-certified laboratory in Britain and expect the final results within a few weeks.

Authorities have set up a 3 km (two mile) quarantine zone around the affected village, including an area of seven more villages with a total of 2,100 domestic birds, as a prevention measure.

The Balkan country's agriculture ministry has said it expected the EU might ban poultry exports only from the affected areas, but a final decision by Brussels is to come out on Monday.

Bulgaria reported four cases of H5N1 bird flu infection in wild swans earlier this year, but has not suffered as severely as its neighbours Turkey and Romania.

Reuters

"This is a mixed infection of bird flu and Newcastle disease..."