AUSTRIA IS TESTING COMMERCIAL POULTRY FOR BIRD FLU AT A FARM IN SOUTHERN AUSTRIA AFTER A SUSPICIOUS RISE IN MORTALITY AMONG THE BIRDS, THE COUNTRY'S HEALTH MINISTRY SAID IN A STATEMENT LATE ON SATURDAY. THE FIRST RESULTS OF THE TESTS WILL BE PUBLISHED ON SUNDAY, THE MINISTRY SAID. AUSTRIA HAS HAD MANY CASES OF BIRD FLU IN WILD BIRDS, AND ONE CASE IN DOMESTIC POULTRY IN AN ANIMAL SANCTUARY, BUT SO FAR NO COMMERCIAL FLOCKS HAD BEEN AFFECTED. GERMANY REPORTED A CASE OF THE HIGHLY PATHOGENIC H5N1 STRAIN OF THE BIRD FLU VIRUS IN COMMERCIAL POULTRY LAST WEEK, REUTERS REPORTED.
