Europe bird flu cases cause for concern: Coughlan

CONFIRMATION that the lethal strain of bird flu has been confirmed in Greece, Italy and Slovenia was described as a matter of concern last night by Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan.

But she said her department’s assessment was that while the further spread of the virus had obviously increased the risk to Ireland somewhat, that risk remains low.

Minister Coughlan, who called for continued vigilance, said her department was keeping its contingency arrangements under review and will continue to do what it can to prevent the introduction of the virus to the country.