"There have been many developments in the field of veterinary health in the past two years. In addition to many other diseases in our neighborhood, practically all the surrounding countries have reported cases of the bird flu; that's why we expect to see it in Slovenia soon," says Janez Posedi, the Director General of the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary Health, and Plant Protection.

He adds that Slovenia "is an island in the sea of a bird flu flood." Authorities have therefore decided to ban the collection and exhibition of birds until further notice. They also issued guidelines for bird breeders. The strains of the flu are highly pathogenic and tend to cause substantial damage because there is seldom an alternative to destroying an entire flock once the disease appears.

The current strain of bird flu poses no danger to
Based on currently available data, viruses of the H5N8 subtype cannot Olga Zorman Rojs of the Veterinary Council says there is no reason for the kind of panic seen in 2005 and 2006 because the subtype then was H5N1, which could be transmitted to people. She emphasizes that veterinarians and poultry breeders alike are prepared for a bird flu outbreak.

G. C.
Translated by J. B.