EU to use buffer zones to stop bird flu spread

BUFFER zones with restricted movement for people and animals will be among the precautions taken in the event of an outbreak of avian flu in Ireland.

Yesterday, the disease spread further west as the European Commission reported a first case in France.

A dead wild duck found at Ain near Lyon had the H5 strain and officials expect tests to confirm that it had the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease which has killed at least 91 people worldwide. Hungary is also awaiting confirmation that dead swans carried the deadly strain.