BRUSSELS, Oct 10: The European Union announced a ban on live bird imports from Turkey on Monday after an outbreak of avian influenza there, as Europe heightened its state of alert over the potentially deadly disease.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, also said it was waiting for test results from a suspected outbreak in Romania — like Turkey an EU candidate state — and could act later in the week.

Also on Monday Switzerland — which is not an EU member — announced a ban on poultry imports from both Turkey and Romania, while EU member Hungary joined Poland in unilaterally banning poultry imports from Romania.

The EU announcement came after authorities in the northwestern Turkish province of Balikesir slaughtered hundreds of birds overnight after avian flu was detected in the region.

About 3,000 birds were gassed in Kiziksa, where the first case of bird flu in the country was confirmed at a turkey farm over the weekend and some 2,000 birds were initially slaughtered.

But the Turkish health ministry downplayed the threat to human health.

“The fact that bird flu has been seen in poultry does not mean that there is a worrying situation,” the ministry said.

Experts are still analysing the exact strain of the virus found, but the EU admitted that some are far less dangerous.

“We should have confirmation of the nature of the virus found in Turkey on Wednesday,” said EU commission spokesman Philip Tod.—AFP