Cyprus

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos on Tuesday urged for calm on the island after the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was detected in the Turkish Cypriot north.

Papadopoulos said that the Greek Cypriot government was taking all necessary measures to fight the disease and that there was no reason to panic.

"Although bird flu has been detected, for 20 days till now there has been no other incident either in the occupied Cyprus or in the government-controlled areas," he said.

He also said that the government did not intend to close the checkpoints to and from the Turkish-controlled north.

The European Commission announced on Sunday that the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 has been confirmed in one of two samples taken from northern Cyprus and has sent two bird flu experts to northern Cyprus to help and pin-down the deficiencies in preventing the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, the British Bases in Cyprus have also taken a series of measures and established a surveillance zone to prevent the spread of bird flu on the island, British Bases Spokesman Captain Crispin Coates said here Tuesday.

He said measures have been taken in cooperation with the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus.

Coates told reporters that all vehicles are now disinfected and searched upon arriving at the crossing points manned by British soldiers along the dividing line between the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriot north and that individuals are also checked and if necessary are also disinfected at the crossing points.

Cyprus has been divided along ethnic line since 1974 when Turkey sent troops to take control of the norther third of the island following a Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece. Turkey currently maintains some 30,000 troops in the island's northern enclave.

Britain has retained two military bases in Cyprus when the island gained its independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed so far about 80 people worldwide since its breakout in late 2003.

Experts fear that the deadly disease, currently jumping from birds to humans, might mutate into a human form that would become a global pandemic, killing millions.

Source: Xinhua