In Croatia, the Agriculture Ministry said the country's first cases of avian flu were confirmed on Friday in six swans found dead in a national park in the east of the country.
far-flung cases
The H5N1 strain has recently been found in birds in Russia, Turkey and Romania.
Sweden's National Veterinary Institute said late on Saturday that a case of bird flu had been confirmed in one of four ducks found dead on Friday in Eskilstuna, about 100km west of Stockholm. Officials said it would take days to determine whether it was the H5N1 strain.
H5N1 is easily transmitted between birds, but is hard for humans to contract. Experts are closely watching the disease, however, for fear it could mutate into a form easily transmitted between humans and cause a pandemic that could kill millions.
In Croatia, Minister of Agriculture Petar Cobankovic said ``there is no room for panic'' in the wake of the country confirming its first cases of bird flu, in wild migratory swans.
In Britain, the chief veterinarian, Debby Reynolds, said the country's disease-free status was not affected by the case of bird flu there, because the parrot had died while in quarantine. She said the incident demonstrated the importance of Britain's tough quarantine system.
RSS