Spain confirms first case of H5N1 bird flu

Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said today.

The strain was found in a wild bird in a marsh area outside the northern city of Vitoria, the ministry said in a statement.

The version of the H5N1 strain found in this case is highly virulent, it added.

A protective area of 2 miles has been declared outside the area where the bird - known as a great crested grebe – was found, the statement added.

Spanish officials said late last year as bird flu spread to several European countries that it was only a matter of time before the disease made it to that country, which is on the route of northern-bound migratory birds from Africa.

Preventive measures taken so far had included banning outdoor poultry farming within a 6-mile radius of certain marshlands, where migratory birds tend to gather.

Bird flu has killed at least 131 people worldwide since it started ravaging Asian poultry in late 2003, according to the World Health Organisation.

Most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that makes it more easily transmissible among humans.