The European Union declared Tuesday the spread of bird flu from Asia into the EU a "global threat" requiring international co-operation, saying western Europe was ill prepared to deal with an influenza emergency.
Western European governments scrambled to buy industrial quantities of flu vaccines and face masks to protect citizens from possible infection.
EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said most of the 25 EU governments lack sufficient stocks of anti-viral drugs designed to boost resistance to the common flu of such risk groups as the elderly, the young, diabetics and others.
He said the EU was working on a deal with the pharmaceutical industry whereby EU governments will "increase vaccination for seasonal flu ... and the industry will invest more to build up manufacturing capacity."
"We have not reached the level of (vaccination) preparedness that we should have," Kyprianou told reporters after updating the EU foreign ministers on the westward spreading of bird flu.
The EU was investigating a possible outbreak in Greece of the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed 60 people in Asia. The H5N1 strain has been confirmed in Turkey and Romania.
