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Bulgaria Says Don't Panic After Bird Flu Criticism
BULGARIA: February 8, 2006
SOFIA - Bulgaria urged people on Tuesday not to panic after the media said the authorities were not ready to tackle possible bird flu outbreaks.
The poor Balkan country has blocked off wetland areas and sent samples of a dying swan found in the Danube River to Britain to test whether it had the H5N1 strain of bird flu that can also kill people.
Newspapers criticised authorities for mishandling funds and lacking protective clothing and said people in high-risk areas appeared unaware of the dangers of bird flu and were still allowing domestic fowl to run free.
But Agriculture Minister Nihat Kabil said his office had the situation under control.
"We are in high level of readiness in case of a bird flu outbreak," Kabil told reporters as he accepted 300 doses of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to distribute to veterinarians.
"The veterinarians are equipped with necessary protective clothing, gloves and disinfectants... We are mobilised and working very intensively."
Disaster Policy Minister Emel Etem appealed for people to prevent children from playing with birds and to follow other recommendations such as keeping domestic poultry inside.
"Please, let's not panic people," she said.
Sandwiched between Romania and Turkey, both of which are struggling to control outbreaks of H5N1, Bulgaria has long been bracing for the virus.
Veterinarians announced the country's first case of H5 on Friday but must wait until around early next week for the results of final tests from the British laboratory to learn whether the strain is H5N1, which has killed at least 88 people and millions of birds since 2003.
Trud daily reported on Tuesday that most veterinarians who were gathering dead birds around the Danube at the weekend did not have protective clothing needed to prevent infection.
It said that in villages near where the infected swan was found, reporters saw geese, ducks and hens walking freely through the streets. It also criticised officials for being slow to react after the first case emerged.
"The swan that died on Jan. 31 was sent to a laboratory in Britain only yesterday," Plamen Enchev wrote in a column.
"Was the swan waiting in a queue in front of the British embassy to get a visa or waiting for a low-cost air company? ... No wonder things are starting to smell."
Story by Kremena Miteva
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
BULGARIA: February 8, 2006
SOFIA - Bulgaria urged people on Tuesday not to panic after the media said the authorities were not ready to tackle possible bird flu outbreaks.
The poor Balkan country has blocked off wetland areas and sent samples of a dying swan found in the Danube River to Britain to test whether it had the H5N1 strain of bird flu that can also kill people.
Newspapers criticised authorities for mishandling funds and lacking protective clothing and said people in high-risk areas appeared unaware of the dangers of bird flu and were still allowing domestic fowl to run free.
But Agriculture Minister Nihat Kabil said his office had the situation under control.
"We are in high level of readiness in case of a bird flu outbreak," Kabil told reporters as he accepted 300 doses of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to distribute to veterinarians.
"The veterinarians are equipped with necessary protective clothing, gloves and disinfectants... We are mobilised and working very intensively."
Disaster Policy Minister Emel Etem appealed for people to prevent children from playing with birds and to follow other recommendations such as keeping domestic poultry inside.
"Please, let's not panic people," she said.
Sandwiched between Romania and Turkey, both of which are struggling to control outbreaks of H5N1, Bulgaria has long been bracing for the virus.
Veterinarians announced the country's first case of H5 on Friday but must wait until around early next week for the results of final tests from the British laboratory to learn whether the strain is H5N1, which has killed at least 88 people and millions of birds since 2003.
Trud daily reported on Tuesday that most veterinarians who were gathering dead birds around the Danube at the weekend did not have protective clothing needed to prevent infection.
It said that in villages near where the infected swan was found, reporters saw geese, ducks and hens walking freely through the streets. It also criticised officials for being slow to react after the first case emerged.
"The swan that died on Jan. 31 was sent to a laboratory in Britain only yesterday," Plamen Enchev wrote in a column.
"Was the swan waiting in a queue in front of the British embassy to get a visa or waiting for a low-cost air company? ... No wonder things are starting to smell."
Story by Kremena Miteva
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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