Firt european bird flu outbreak of winter

Jan 24, 2007 – Hungary announced today that it had a H5N1 avian influenza outbreak at a goose farm - the first appearance of the disease in Europe this winter.

A European Union statement said Hungarian authorities notified the EU of an H5N1 avian flu outbreak in Csongrad County (southeastern Hungary) , Reuters reported. The EU said vets tested some geese after several deaths were reported in a 3,000-bird flock; all the remaining geese were culled.

Hungarian veterinary officials told Bloomberg News they will send samples tomorrow to an EU lab in the UK to confirm the results.

Chief veterinarian Miklos Suth, in a tv appearance, said a surveillance zone had been set up around the farm. The farm is said to be in an isolated location, making spread of the disease less likely.

Hungary's first H5N1 outbreaks involved mute swans in Bács-Kiskun County in April 2006, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The following June, the disease was found in several goose farms in the same county.

The last previous outbreak in Europe was in Germany last August, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).