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Bird flu patrol stepped up
Hundreds more outdoor sites will be patrolled for signs of bird flu, the Environment Secretary said today.
Staff at the 304 nature reserves, parks and reservoirs will report any dead water birds to Defra.
The move will expand the existing surveillance area by around 1,200 square kilometres.
It is part of the Government's strategy for detecting high-pathogenic strains of the disease in birds.
To date only one case of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu has been found in Britain under the current surveillance programme.
Environment Secretary David Miliband said: "This will greatly increase the scope of our surveillance and add to our understanding of the disease risk."
Thousands of dead birds have already been tested for avian flu.
Copyright Press Association 2006
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