Sixth swan tests positive for H5N1 in Italy

A sixth wild swan which died in Italy has tested positive for the virulent H5N1 of bird flu in a specialist lab in Padua late Sunday, local press reports said on Monday.

Tests were still under way in the lab to determine whether dozens of other swans found dead in the south of the country carried the H5N1 strain that can infect humans, the reports said.

More than 20 swans found dead in Puglia and Calabria regions and on the island of Sicily were infected by the bird flu, Italian Health Minister Francesco Storace said on Saturday.

The Italian authorities had put emergency measures into place, including setting up protective zones and increasing agricultural and veterinary checks.

Greece and Bulgaria, where H5N1 was detected in other wild swans, have also taken similar emergency measures. Slovenia reported a case of an H5 bird flu, but had not yet confirmed whether it was the H5N1 strain.

Only migratory birds, and no domestic poultry, had been affected so far in Italy, authorities said.

Source: Xinhua