Croatia confirms second outbreak of bird flu

Croatia reported a new case of H5N1 in wild fowl today – the country’s second outbreak of the deadly strain of bird flu since October.

Lethal H5N1 was confirmed in a swan found dead last week on the ancient island of Ciovo – across the sea from the southern city of Split, officials said. Croatia’s Veterinary Institute carried out the tests.

The case is Croatia’s first since October, when the country reported H5N1 in about a dozen migratory birds. That outbreak was recorded hundreds of miles away, in central Croatia.

The Agriculture Ministry said two other dead birds – a grebe found yesterday on a beach in Ciovo and a dead swan discovered near the nearby coastal city of Trogir – were being tested for bird flu.

Ciovo is a tourist resort perched mostly on stone cliffs with few domestic birds.

Croatia is a popular migration route for wild birds, and experts were taking all EU-recommended precautions to stem the outbreak of the disease in the coming weeks as birds head back north.

“Authorities are taking regular measures like quarantining the area and culling domestic poultry,” said Mladen Pavic, a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture.