Lithuanian Health Care Minister Zilvinas Padaiga said Tuesday his country is taking all measures to prevent bird flu, which has appeared in several European countries, from being spread into its territory.

Lithuania has been alert to the looming threat of bird flu, and the government has worked out precautionary plans and stocked up antiviral drugs, he told the Lithuanian parliament.

The situation is "completely under the government's control," he added.

Lithuania has no poultry imports from Romania, Turkey, Russia and Kazakhstan so far.

The authorities have also tightened airport monitoring and carried out necessary checkings on luggages of passengers from South Asia, Romania and Turkey. Travelers to those areas and countries are warned not to visit poultry markets and breeding places.

Greece discovered a case of bird flu on Monday, following the appearance of the deadly H5N1 virus of bird flu in Turkey and Romania.

Fears of a bird flu pandemic have remained in Europe, although no human infections have been reported there.

The Dutch-Swedish pharmaceutical group Akzo Nobel is working on a human vaccine against the bird flu virus, Dutch media reported on Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua