"Europe Struggles to Eradicate Avian Flu Outbreak"

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Europe is still working to halt an avian flu outbreak that has traveled through Belgium and the Netherlands during the past few months, but the virus has entered Germany and caused the European Union to extend a ban on the export and transport of fowl and eggs in certain areas until the end of the month. The Netherlands has culled some 28 million birds since March, while Belgium has slaughtered 3 million and Germany 80,000, and the number of new cases has dropped considerably. The virus is not generally serious for humans, but it has infected over 80 people who came in contact with birds, and many were already taking precautionary antiviral medicines. Some health experts fear that the virus could recombine with a human influenza strain and produce a more dangerous disease.

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