EU should be able to control bird flu - Commission

BRUSSELS, Feb 5 (Reuters) The European Union's top health official said today he was optimistic the bloc would be able to control bird flu this year despite outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain in Britain and Hungary.

''The virus is still around. We should never feel that we are safe. Hungary is dealing with it in a very efficient way. The UK is doing the same, but we will probably have more outbreaks,'' EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Markos Kyprianou told reporters.

''Last year we managed to control the disease. I'm optimistic we will be able to do the same again this year,'' he said.

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