PARIS, July 5 (RIA Novosti) - Swans found dead in eastern France died of bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Thursday.
Veterinary experts confirmed the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus in the three wild swans, which were discovered Tuesday in a pond in Assenoncourt in the Moselle department, the ministry said.
This is not the first case of bird flu in Europe. Last month, avian influenza affected Germany's Bavaria and Saxonia. The H5N1 strain was also found on poultry farms in Hungary, Britain and the Czech Republic this year.
In France, bird flu was registered last February in the Ain department in the east of the country. The authorities reacted promptly and contained the virus by culling or vaccinating all poultry on 11,000 farms.
