Pandemic risk 'unchanged' despite Belgian bird flu scare

Health officials were today closely monitoring reports of a case of human bird flu in Belgium.

Staff at the Sint Pieters Hospital, in Brussels, said they were investigating a suspected case of the disease.

They fear a man who returned from an area of Turkey where bird flu is present may have contracted it.

Blood tests were today being carried out after the man, who returned from Turkey two days ago, checked into hospital complaining of flu-like symptoms.

The results will confirm whether the patient has contracted bird flu and whether it is the deadly H5N1 strain.

A spokesperson for the British Department of Health said the suspected case did not affect the level of risk.

She said: “We are closely monitoring the situation in Belgium. Avian flu is a virus that affects birds, and is not easily transmissible to humans. The level of risk has not changed.”

In Turkey, 18 people have been confirmed infected with the H5N1 strain, including three children who died a week ago.

All were suspected to have had direct contact with infected birds.