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EU approves poultry vaccine plan
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HEALTH LIBRARYYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- A European Union panel Wednesday approved a plan to vaccinate poultry in France and the Netherlands against bird flu, in an effort to stop the spread of the disease in Europe. "The vaccination programs are authorized only for specific birds in specified regions, and will be subject to rigorous surveillance and control requirements," said a statement on the EU Web site. So far, bird flu has been found in wild birds in five EU countries. None has been detected in domestic poultry, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. Critics argued that the vaccination program would be impractical, citing the cost and the need for two injections at three-week intervals for each bird. There are also concerns that vaccinating fowl could mask the symptoms of the deadly H5N1 strain if the animals are already infected. But the panel decided that "targeted preventive vaccination, accompanied by sufficient guarantees ... can be an effective tool when coupled with the rigorous preventive measures already in place in the EU," the statement said. "As the spring migration approaches, I would urge member states to remain on high alert for any signs of avian influenza, and to continue applying all of the precautionary measures we have laid down over the past months," said Markos Kyprianou, EU commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. In France, ducks and geese in the departments of Landes, Loire-Atlantique and Vendee will be vaccinated. In the Netherlands, hobby poultry and free-range laying hens throughout the country will be vaccinated, the EU statement said. Meanwhile, Indonesia reported Wednesday that a woman had died of bird flu, raising the number of human bird flu deaths in that country to nine this year alone. Indonesian health official Hariadi Wibisono said authorities believe the woman was in contact with chickens before she became ill, and said samples have been sent to the World Health Organization for confirmation of the H5N1 virus. (Full story) Nineteen people have died of bird flu in Indonesia since last year, according to WHO statistics. Of 170 confirmed cases worldwide, 92 people have died. Health officials across the globe fear a pandemic could break out as the virus learns to mutate and adapt. Currently, most of the confirmed human cases have been spread from birds and not from human-to-human contact. 
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