BIRDS in a North Wales estuary are to be tested for the deadly flu virus threatening a global pandemic.

Scientists fear some of the 130,000 migrating birds wintering on the River Dee's mudflats could carry the avian flu virus from Russia - where it has already been found.

The Dee from Flintshire to Denbigh-shire, along with Burry Port near Carmarthen, will be monitored in the three-month European scheme, run in the UK by the rural affairs agency Defra.

Shot birds, plus dead ones found by the public, will be tested.

Experts will examine carcasses for the bird flu viruses including H5N1, similar to the one found in the Far East and Russia, and which has killed 60 people.

The European Commission agreed the plan amid fears wild birds may have spread avian flu from China and Mongolia to Eastern Russia.

Last night Defra chief vet Debby Reynolds said: "The risk of avian influenza spreading from eastern Russia to the UK via migrating birds is still low."

An Assembly spokeswoman said birds would not be shot just for the tests.

She added: "These samples would be taken from birds shot as part of existing legal shooting activity."

At other sites in the UK, wild birds will be captured and tested.

People who find dead birds in the estuary were urged to contact the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA). Vets will collect the carcasses.

Ms Reynolds said: "We have said all along that we must remain on the lookout for the disease. This surveillance programme is important to maintain vigilance.

"This is a new partnership for the animal health and welfare strategy, with the focus on prevention better than cure.

"It will give a better picture of the possible presence of an avian flu virus in waterbird populations."

An RSPB spokeswoman added: "The risk of high pathogenic avian influenza reaching the UK via migrating birds remains low."

Ornithologists will take samples for analysis by the VLA, the European Community reference laboratory for avian influenza and the agency which runs the diseases of wildlife scheme for Defra.

The Dee Estuary, hugely important as a winter feeding ground for migrating birds, has the highest levels of legal protection, both nationally and internationally.

It becomes a winter home to waders and wildfowl escaping harsher winters in Russia, Greenland, Scandinavia and Canada.

They flock to the Dee because its mudflats are teeming with invertebrates. More than 100,000 waders and 30,000 wildfowl can winter in the estuary.

* Avian influenza A (H5N1) is most commonly spread to humans through close contact with live or dead infected birds.

* The species targeted include widgeon, teal, mallard, pintail, shoveler, tufted duck, gadwall, pochard and possibly lapwing.

* Thoroughly washing hands with soap and water after contact with wild or domestic birds and ensuring any killed for meat are cooked thoroughly will help minimise the risk of infection.

* People who see large groups of dead birds should call Defra's helpline on 08459 335577.

Samples delayed at border

SAMPLES of Romanian bird flu en route to Britain to be tested for a deadly strain of the virus were delayed at the border, customs said last night.

The diseased birds were infected with the H5 virus, but it was not yet known if they were contaminated with the deadly strain H5N1 - lethal to humans.

The results of the tests were expected yesterday but it emerged the samples had not arrived at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, Surrey.

A spokeswoman for HM Revenue and Customs said the delivery was expected later and officials were ready to ensure its swift passage to the VLA.

The findings will not now be released before Monday at the earliest, said rural affairs agency Defra.

European Commission health spokesman Philip Tod said there were delays at the Romanian border because of the nature of the parcel's contents, but he understood the concern.

Experts' warning over use of drugs

ATTEMPTS to control the deadly bird flu could be helping to create a drug resistant form of the virus, new research suggested last night.

Scientists identified a strain of the H5N1 virus in Vietnam resistant to Tamiflu, the drug being stockpiled to fight any outbreak in the UK.

It was found in a Vietnamese girl who was put on a course of preventative treatment with Tamiflu for four days in February.

Medics fear she may be one of the first H5N1 victims to acquire the virus through person-to-person transmission

The British government does not plan to offer Tamiflu, one of a class of drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors, to healthy people as a precaution.

But prophylactic (taken as a preventative measure) use of Tamiflu was part of the control measures being adopted in Asian hotspots where about 60 people died from the virus.

The new findings, due to be published in the journal Nature next week, suggest it may be contributing to the emergence of drug resistance.

Viruses and bacteria can become resistant if the treatment used against them was too weak.

Up to now the virus has only been known to pass from birds to humans. At least one other case of transmission between humans has been suspected, but not confirmed.

Health experts fear that if the virus mutates into a form that transmits easily between people it could trigger a global pandemic claiming millions of lives.

A team led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, from the University of Tokyo in Japan, looked at 10 viral clones from the girl and found six were highly resistant to Tamiflu. Three others were slightly resistant and one was "highly sensitive".

However even the highly resistant virus did succumb to another drug, zanamivir - marketed as Relenza - which has been suggested as an alternative bird flu treatment but so far not been widely adopted.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said there were no current plans to administer it prophylactically either to members of the public or health workers.