EU Experts Boost Bird Flu Plan, By CONSTANT BRAND
Wednesday, February 15, 2006; 7:56 AM

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union veterinary experts on Wednesday backed plans to boost surveillance of wild birds and stricter bans on imports into the 25-nation bloc as officials scrambled to find ways to curb the spread of deadly bird flu in Europe.

With Austria and Germany saying wild birds in their countries have tested positive for deadly H5N1, the European Commission approved more than $2.26 million in additional funding for national surveillance programs and added testing to ensure early detection of bird flu outbreaks.