The European Commission will adopt a decision to ban untreated feathers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Syria, Iran and Iraq, due to the proximity of these countries to Eastern Turkey where there is currently an outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in poultry. The complete ban on any imports of live birds and poultry products from Turkey, which was adopted in early October 2005, remains in place.

The Member States experts also discussed the situation with regard to Member States' surveillance for avian flu in the EU. Since the heightened surveillance measures were established by the Commission last October, around 25,000 wild birds have been tested for avian influenza in the EU in late 2005. All samples have tested negative for the virus and there has been no reported case of H5N1 in the EU to date. With regard to the latest public health situation in Turkey, the most recent figures from the Turkish authorities indicate that there are now nine confirmed human cases of avian flu (six in Eastern Turkey and three in Ankara) out of a total of 48 suspected cases under investigation.

A joint WHO, European Commission/FAO/OIE and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) expert team has arrived in Turkey and has begun work investigating the epidemiological situation there. The team of experts will also provide support for the Turkish authorities in dealing with the situation, and establish further needs that Turkey might have in terms of international help.