PARIS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- As veterinary experts meet in Brussels Wednesday to find ways to combat the spread of bird flu in Europe, France is finalizing its national emergency plan.
Among other measures, experts at France's food safety agency, AFSSA, have recommended complete confinement of chickens located in at-risk zones and the vaccination of geese and ducks against the virus.
Just a month ago, the agency ruled that efforts to confine domestic birds in France were not necessary. But that was before bird flu was detected in Africa, along with a growing number of European countries.
Experts fear one of the ways the virus may spread in Europe via migrating birds from Africa.
Authorities have most recently identified swans carrying the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus in Germany, and an as yet unidentified H5 strain was found in two dead swans in Austria.
The virus has also been found in birds in Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Greece.
Bird flu experts are holding an emergency meeting in Brussels Wednesday and Thursday to discover what further measures the European Union can take to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
