France Says Turkeys May Have Died of Flu

VIENNA, Austria, Feb. 24, 2006

(AP) France said Thursday that it may have found its first case of the virulent H5N1 bird flu virus in domestic birds, while an Austrian official warned of spotty European preparation for a possible outbreak.

The developments came as the European Union prepared for urgent talks Friday on how to battle the disease, which has spread over the past year from Asia to Africa and Europe.

Austrian Health Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat said Thursday that governments' readiness to deal with a possible bird flu pandemic in Europe was uneven and that steps must be taken to bring them to appropriate standards.

Scientists fear the H5N1 flu strain, which has already spread to 10 European countries, could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted between humans, sparking a pandemic.

Rauch-Kallat declined to say what countries lacked appropriate plans to combat a potential pandemic.

"There are countries that are well-prepared ... and there are countries that are less well-prepared," she said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of Friday's EU health ministers meeting that she will preside.