14 DAY TRIAL // As bird flu spreads, the European Union is scheduled to make a decision on whether they should vaccinate poultry in order to stop the spread of the disease.
France and the Netherlands assert that a vaccination program should be started, while Germany and the other states oppose the idea. After finding three dead swans last week, Hungary became the seventh member of the EU to confirm bird flu infection.
As for other countries, Croatia confirms the H5N1 virus in a swan found on an island near the city of Split, Germany found so far 103 cases of infected birds and is currently under the risk of the disease spreading to domestic birds, and Slovakia suspects of infection two wild birds found dead at about 300 km from the capital Bratislava.
EU specialists, including veterinarians and health experts, met on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of bird flu vaccination. They are worried that keeping a large number of poultry indoors in order to protect them from wild birds will be difficult. This issue is opposed by some countries because it is a very complex procedure, from which some birds may escape and risk contracting the flu.
Prof. Oxford, from the Queen Mary School of Medicine, said "The Government must now confront the immediate threat. Many EU nations have already taken firm action. They are trying to break the chain of transmission by quarantining domestic birds under cover so that they do not mix with migrants. We must now do the same, keeping all flocks indoors."
The president of the largest European wholesale poultry market reported a 25% decline in poultry sales; these have drastically decreased in France, Italy and Greece, but the EU tried to reassure citizens that they can consume poultry products safely.