Swiss authorities have prohibited free-range poultry farming within one kilometer of major lakes and waterways, effective mid-October through late April, to reduce the risk of avian flu spreading from migratory birds to domestic flocks.
The World Health Organization has warned that the danger of the virus mutating increases during winter months, which overlap with the human flu season.
The restrictions target areas with the highest concentrations of waterfowl, including Lakes Geneva, Constance, Neuchatel, and Zurich, where 74 percent of migratory birds spend the winter. Earlier this year, 32 cases of avian flu were confirmed in wild birds in those regions.
In addition to the farming ban, poultry markets and exhibitions will be prohibited in high-risk zones, and domestic birds must be kept in enclosed coops or buildings. Authorities will also continue monitoring wild birds, with any dead birds suspected of carrying the virus sent for laboratory analysis.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.