Bird Flu Affects Travel Stock Shares

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. October 14, 2008

EUROPEAN UNION, February 13, 2006. Shares in one of Europe's largest operators TUI were lower in Monday's trade. Investors abandoned the stock after the presence of the bird flu virus was confirmed in the EU.

For the first time the H5N1 strain of the viral bird flu has been found in EU member states including Italy, Greece, as well as in Bulgaria. It has been detected among wild bird populations, including swans. There are now fears, expressed in the media, that the virus could move into other northern European countries.

The cases of bird flu have been confirmed in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki and the southern Italian regions of Puglia and Calabria, as well as the island of Sicily. Slovenia has reported a case of an H5 bird flu, but had not yet confirmed whether it is the H5N1 strain.

Germany is now starting to look at precautionary measures to prevent bird flu from spreading from migrating birds to domestic ones in the country. Bird flu has killed at least 88 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003, according to the World Health Organisation.