Switzerland increases checks for bird flu
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Switzerland is increasing its checks for bird flu around Lake Geneva, Lake Neuchatel and other waterways during the northern hemisphere winter, when the virus generally spreads fastest.
The canton of Vaud, in the French-speaking part of the small Alpine country, issued a statement saying it would boost its surveillance for the virus among wild birds in a one-km perimeter around its major lakes from next week.
Chickens, turkeys and other domestic poultry will need to be kept away from wild birds, or confined indoors, according to rules approved last month by the Federal Council in the capital Berne. Other Swiss cantons are also expected to implement the measures by Oct. 15.
Hundreds of millions of birds have died or been culled since bird flu re-emerged in Asia in 2003, causing some 330 infections in humans.
Health experts fear the lethal H5N1 bird flu strain could spark an epidemic if it mutates and starts to spread easily between humans.
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