BULGARIA is prepared to deal with a possible imminent bird flu outbreak, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Nihat Kabil told a press conference on February 13.

Dead birds found in Vidin in northwest Bulgaria, Kraimorie in the Bourgas  region, Dourankulak and the Tsonevo dam in the Varna region, have tested postivie for the H5N1 virus.

In the case of an outbreak, not only  isolated cases of dead wild birds, but all birds in the three-km quarantine zones where contaminated birds were found, would have to be destroyed. Kabil said.

Seventeen million leva of the ministry's budget has been earmarked for compensation of  commercial farmers and private poultry owners in the case of an epizootic, Kabil said. So far, more than 8000 leva has been spent on preventing the spread of bird flu.

On February 13, the European Commission (EC) prohibited the import of birds and poultry products from Bulgaria. Restrictions would be extended to include live domestic birds and game birds, eggs and unprocessed plumage from the affected regions. Also on February 13, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Macedonia prohibited Bulgarian poultry imports.

Raising private poultry in open-air areas was prohibited in the Sofia region on February 13, a representative from the regional episodic commission said. Fines for breaching the regulation would be between 50 and 150 leva, Bulgarian National Radio reported. There have been daily checks in unregistered markets and bi-weekly checks in all poultry-raising farms in the risk zones since the beginning of the week.

The owners of domestic birds were not aware of the real danger of bird flu in the country, specialists from the Bourgas village of Konstantinovo said on February 14. The village is situated between two stretches of water where wild birds spend the winter and there could be danger of contamination, specialists said.

In Montana, bird owners must sign a declaration stating that they are informed about the measures for preventing the spread of bird flu and that  they are aware that they must keep their birds in closed premises in order to minimise the risk of contact with wild birds.

The episodic commission said that no cases in wild or domestic birds had been reported in the Sofia region. Other cases of dead birds were reported in Novo Selo in the Bourgas region and the Iskar dam area. There was  no danger for contamination of the water of the Iskar Dam because of the dead swan found there, specialists said. The water is purified before reaching consumers and the virus as a rule is not hardy.

Mira Kojouharova, head of the Division of Epidemiology of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, told a press conference on February 15 that 75 per cent of Bulgarians were well-informed  about preventive measures, Bulgarian media reported.

As the virus mainly affects animals, people should not be overly concerned. Human infection is possible only in the case of direct contact with infected birds or due to poor hygiene.

"Bulgaria is one of the few countries that had been taking preventive measures against the spread of bird flu five or six months before it threatened," Kabil  said. "With the whole range of measures that other countries took, there were still bird flu outbreaks. We have to get used to the idea that it is possible to have an outbreak and that in such a case, the destruction of birds - whether contaminated or not - would be very distressing."

Since February 13, regional administrations and veterinary services have been swamped with reports of newly-found dead swans. "We are literally flooded with calls by people asking what to do," Kabil told the press conference.

The EU laboratory in Weybridge, UK, also confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus in Greece, Italy and Slovenia, where three-km high-risk protection zones and a 10-km surveillance zone have also been established, in accordance with EU regulations.