Italian government officials issued a warning to people not to touch dead birds, but report the matter to the health authorities who would help in removing them.
Five wild swans, which died in southern Italian provinces of Calabria, Puglia and Sicily, were reported to have had the H5N1 virus.
Francesco Storace, the Italian Health Minister, on Saturday said: “Twenty-one swans were infected by the virus, five of them with a virulent form. We are relatively unworried as regards human health but there are reasons for concern for animal health.”
Two miles around each area where the virus was found is to be quarantined. The government also ordered that poultry should not be kept along with other domestic birds and the hunting of wild birds has also been banned.
In the neighboring Slovenia, authorities also imposed controls Sunday after a dead swan tested positive for avian flu.
On Saturday, Mr. Storace tried to allay fears among the populace saying that the virus was not found on Italian farms. He said: “I don't think we in Italy are in the habit of cooking swans and eating them.” There was no risk of eating poultry product and eggs, the health officials said.
Animals susceptible to the virus were barred from being sent to Calabria, Puglia and the island of Sicily.
In the quarantined zone, testing is being carried out on birds to see if they are infected with H5N1 strain. Any birds that test positive are being culled.
Till now, 22 wild birds are reported to have been infected from the deadly virus, including the five which died.
Experts have also asked people not to panic saying that humans were at risk of bird flu only when they come into close contact with them. Since in Italy only wild birds have been infected, there was no cause for alarm, they added.
