A DEAD swan has tested positive for the H5 bird flu virus, Nihat Kabil Minister of Agriculture and Forestry told a news conference on January 3. 

The swan was found near the Danube city of Vidin in northwestern Bulgaria. "The H5 virus is not dangerous for people, only for birds, and the good news is that the swan was found in an area where no poultry breeding facilities are located," Kabil said.

The National Veterinary Medical Service (NVMS) carried out the tests. Out of a total of 7 500 tests carried out since October, this was the first instance of an H5 positive test.

The NVMS has notified the European Commission (EC). A sample was sent to the EU reference laboratory for final diagnosis of the virus and verification of the strain.

A written report on the case was presented to the EC's Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General. The same day, the case was reported at a meeting of the Standing Veterinary Committee in Brussels.

Kabil stressed that the positive test did not mean that there was a bird flu outbreak in Bulgaria. He said that there was nothing in the behaviour of birds in Bulgaria to suggest the presence of the disease.

The swan found near Vidin should not cause panic and alarm, he said, adding that the Agriculture and Forests Ministry and NVMS were ready to react adequately. Police have been patrolling a three-km radius around the area where the H5 positive swan was found.

Kabil called on people to inform the local structures of the NVMS as soon as they noticed any abnormal behaviour of birds. Measures have been taken to prevent the possible spread of bird flu.

Control over wholesale markets and poultry facilities in the Vidin area has been tightened. About 80 volunteers in another Danube city, Silistra, have been trained to operate in possible bird flu outbreaks. Large-scale awareness campaigns have been launched in the Montana and Vratsa regions.

All experts have been equipped with protective outfits and disinfectant equipment. Environment inspectors have been operating in compliance with the order issued by Environment Minister Djevdet Chakurov on January 13. Earlier this week it became clear that police, together with veterinary experts, ecologists and municipal authorities, will participate in the bird flu prevention campaign.

Police patrols will monitor high-risk regions such as the Durankulak and Shabla lakes, in northeastern Bulgaria, which are preferred stops by migrating birds.

On February 6, Alexander Alexandrov director of the Veterinary Service in Dobrich said in an interview with a Bulgarian-language newspaper that nine dead birds had been found at Shabla lake.

The cause of death was probably cold or starvation, but it could also turn out to be the bird flu virus, he said. Samples have been sent for laboratory tests in Sofia, and results were expected by January 12. "Deaths are common among migrating birds, because they cannot survive the cold," Alexandrov said.

At the beginning of January, Bulgaria's Council of Ministers approved a National Action Plan on Readiness for Flu Pandemics and the measures within it have been financially provided for.

The Health Ministry has allocated over 3.6 million leva for this purpose. Emel Etem Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Disaster Management and Minister of Health Radoslav Gaidarski also issued a statement calling for calm.

"Bulgaria has the necessary resources to react to the possible spread of the virus, and two infection hospitals in Sofia and Varna are prepared to react in case a bird flu hotbed is established," the statement said.

The temporary ban on the export of Bulgarian poultry products to EU-member countries will continue until February 15, when the veterinary commission will hold a session in Brussels.

The summit was supposed to take place on February 3, but was postponed. The European veto came into effect on January 26. The delay in the scheduled session comes after the identification of the first bird flu case on Bulgarian territory.

After the final results of the dead swan found near Vidin the European Commission will decide whether to extend the ban. Bulgarian companies export goose liver to France and Belgium and eggs to Switzerland.

If the ban remains effective, a third of the Bulgarian export swould suffer. Since the beginning of the year, poultry producers have been experiencing losses because of decreased consumption.

The average wholesale price of frozen chicken has registered a slight drop since January 30 - from 2.68 leva/kg on January 30 to 2.55 leva/kg on February 3, according to a reference on the wholesale prices of staple foods, fruit and vegetables on the Bulgarian wholesale markets. Frozen chicken prices are highest in the region of Smolyan, Stara Zagora and Blagoevgrad (from 3.33 to 3.60 leva/kg) and lowest in Vratsa, Lovech, Pernik, Plovdiv and Sofia (below 2.50 leva/kg). The average price of eggs remained unchanged for the period at 0.11 leva.

The exports between January 1 and 24 of poultry meat were calculated at six million leva. The products go mainly to Greece, Switzerland, France, Austria, and Belgium.

The new situation brought to the fore the issue about how the Government can aid the sector. It emerged a week ago that the government could provide around 10 million leva in aid to compensate for certain losses.

A specially set up working group will determine the mechanisms under which the aid will be allotted. So far three possible steps have been discussed: direct subsidies, export-boosting aid, and purchases by the state emergency reserve.

Having in mind the ban on exports, the export-boosting aid will not be an efficient measure, meaning that breeders will need to find quickly a market in the Arab states. "If the step with giving aid per adolescent animal were chosen, the subsidies would cover the losses only of the large companies"  Blago Diev, co-owner of Diev Breeding Company, said on February 6 for Bulgarian language media.