EU states bolster defences against bird flu

THE arrival of bird flu in the EU prompted governments yesterday to bolster their defences against the deadly H5N1 virus as farmers braced for a plunge in the €20 billion poultry industry.

Health officials on three continents went into emergency high gear as suspected and confirmed cases of the deadly bird flu in both humans and fowl continued to accumulate.

Greece was testing a man for possible bird flu yesterday, two days after the deadly H5N1 virus first appeared in wild birds in the EU.