Commission informed that final results on samples from Greek region of Chios are negative for presence of avian influenza

The European Commission has today been informed by the European Community Reference Laboratory in Weybridge that the final results of tests carried out on samples taken from poultry in the region of Chios are negative for the presence of avian influenza. The samples had been taken and sent for tests to the CRL following a suspected case of avian influenza on a farm in the island of Inousses in the Chios region. Following a first round of virological tests which proved negative, a second round of virological tests were carried out on new samples from the suspected farm, and all the test results are negative for the presence of avian influenza. In coordination with the European Commission, the Greek authorities will now lift the ban on movements of poultry from the region of Chios which had been imposed by the Greek authorities pending the final results of the tests.