Irish bird flu pandemic is now ‘inevitable’, admits Harney

A BIRD FLU pandemic is inevitable in Ireland, Health Minister and Tánaiste Mary Harney has admitted.

Ms Harney attended an emergency meeting of EU health ministers in Vienna yesterday to co-ordinate their actions as bird flu was suspected in France, which would be the first EU country to have it in domestic poultry.

Asked if a pandemic was now inevitable in Ireland, she said: “Ireland could not escape avian flu. The experts say it’s inevitable.”