Coughlan to brief Cabinet on response to bird flu threat

Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan is expected to brief her Cabinet colleagues today on the steps being taken in Ireland following an outbreak of bird flu in Britain.

Politicians and experts in both Britain and Ireland have been stressing that the virus detected at a turkey farm in Suffolk last week is unlikely to spread any further.

The Department of Agriculture has been monitoring the situation closely and its expert committee on bird flu met yesterday to discuss whether any increased security measures were needed.

EU veterinary experts are also due to meet today to assess whether the measures already in place to prevent the spread of the illness need to be strengthened.

Yesterday, EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said he expected further outbreaks in Europe, but was confident the existing measures agreed by the EU were adequate to deal with the threat.