Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I ask for a bit more than that.

A particularly virulent high pathogenic strain of avian influenza has been affecting countries in south-east Asia since December 2003. Both Russia and Kazakhstan confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain in poultry in August. The high pathogenic strain has not been reported anywhere in the European Union since 2003, when there was an outbreak in the Netherlands.

It is important to realise that avian influenza is a disease of birds and while people can become infected, they rarely do. There is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted from poultry to humans other than by direct contact with infected birds. Notwithstanding the approximately 60 deaths in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, the World Health Organisation takes the view that the experience in south-east Asia, "indicates that human cases of infection are rare". The majority of deaths have occurred in rural areas and most have been linked to direct exposure to dead or diseased poultry, particularly during slaughtering, defeathering and food preparation. According to the WHO, no cases have been confirmed in poultry workers nor have any cases been linked to the consumption of properly cooked poultry meat or eggs.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, there are concerns that a possible mutation or a genetic change in the virus circulating in Asia could lead to the virus transforming into a new strain of influenza capable of human-to-human transmission. Responsibility for preparing for such an eventuality rests with the Department of Health and Children and its agencies. My Department is a very active participant in that Department's influenza pandemic expert group and is contributing to update its influenza pandemic plan.

As regards the disease in poultry, I share the conclusion of the standing committee on the food chain and animal health working group on avian influenza that the confirmation of the high pathogenic outbreaks in Russia and Kazakhstan is a cause for serious concern and I acknowledge that the key to limiting the extent of any outbreak is early detection and rapid action.

Since the confirmation of the outbreaks in Russia and Kazakhstan, my Department has been very active in reviewing all aspects of our contingency arrangements and several measures have been taken to improve our preparedness to deal with any suspect or confirmed outbreak. Given the critical importance of early detection, my Department has, with the assistance of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the National Association of Regional Game Councils andBirdWatch Ireland, introduced an early warning system where increased or unusual patterns of wild bird mortality are observed. This early warning system is just part of a more intensified approach to surveillance, including surveillance of wild birds and poultry. The 2005-06 poultry surveillance programme is already under way and my Department has made arrangements for increasing levels of wild bird surveillance at a number of locations throughout the country. In addition, officials from my Department have recently met their colleagues from the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and have agreed to continue to work closely together and to exchange the results of their respective wild bird surveillance programmes. The two Departments will review progress at a further scheduled meeting this month.

Migratory birds can carry the viruses for long distances and have, in the past, been implicated in the spread of high pathogenic avian influenza.

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