France finds 10 gulls with H5 virus
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-05 20:14

Ten seagulls carrying the H5 bird flu were found dead last week in the northern French region of Pas-de-Calais along the coast of the Channel, government sources said.

But an official late Saturday ruled out the birds, found on Thursday close to France's biggest fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, were carrying the deadly H5N1 strain, and said that no precautions have been taken.

France, Europe's biggest poultry producer, this week confirmed the first outbreak of the H5N1 virus at a farm in the European Union, prompting more than 43 countries to impose curbs on French poultry products, including foie gras.

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed more than 90 people and millions of birds, has spread from Asia to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Europe but has not yet reached Britain.