Greece 'prepared for bird flu'

The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, which has killed at least 86 people worldwide, will inevitably reach Greece, Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis said today.

“Until now, our country has had no problem whatsoever with bird flu,” Kaklamanis told a parliamentary committee. ”But let’s not delude ourselves; at some point – nobody knows when – there will be outbreaks of the virus among poultry in Greece.”

Kaklamanis said state health officials are fully prepared, while hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, will conduct drills next week for an outbreak among humans.

Greece suffered a bird flu scare in October, when preliminary tests indicated a turkey could have been infected on a small island near Turkey – where the disease has killed four people and infected another 21. But subsequent tests proved negative.

Angelos Hatzakis, head of the health ministry’s Center for Infectious Diseases Control, said that if the virus mutates into a form that can be transmitted among humans, it could spark a pandemic.

“In such a case, it is expected that 30-50% of the planet’s population will fall sick,” he told the parliamentary committee.

Greece has earmarked nearly £3million in extra funding to boost its defences against a possible bird flu outbreak, while the country recently increased checks at its borders, airports and seaports, and has added 500 veterinary staff to carry out inspections.

Greek laboratories have tested samples from around 3,000 wild and domestic birds since October 2005, but all have been negative for bird flu.