The Spanish government on Friday approved new border hygiene measures to combat possible infection of bird flu, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told local press.

Although the plan "is not exclusively addressed to fighting bird flu, it will undoubtedly contribute to preventing the illness," she said.

The plan budgets 7.1 million euros (about 8.6 million U.S. dollars) to boost inspections at Spain's 15 busiest border posts to 90 percent of all imported merchandise.

She said that the government remains "alert, coordinated and informed" and was working hard with the country's autonomous communities to enforce anti-flu rules.

She also added that there was no cause for alarm and that citizens should not change their eating habits. The risk to Spain had not changed substantially even though wild swans have been found dead from the disease in Germany and Slovenia in the last two weeks. The swans in question do not migrate through Spain, she said.

Bird flu re-emerged as a problem in late 2003, and has killed at least 88 people across the world since then.

Source: Xinhua