Scotland confirmed on Thursday that a wild swan found dead in a coastal village had tested positive for H5N1, the avian influenza strain that has killed more than 100 people, most of them in Asia.
The Scottish Executive in Edinburgh made the announcement ahead of a formal press conference in the capital, where officials were prepared to provide further details. A spokeswoman confirmed the result to reporters before the briefing began.
The finding makes Britain the 13th European Union country to report a wild bird death attributed to H5N1. The strain has now been recorded in wild bird populations across a growing number of EU member states.
Health authorities have tracked H5N1 closely because of its fatality record in humans. The large majority of deaths linked to the strain have occurred in Asia, though its detection in European wild birds has drawn sustained attention from wildlife and public health officials across the continent.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.