Commission Decision of 25 June 2010 on the implementation by Member States of surveillance programmes for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds (notified under document C(2010) 4190) (Text with EEA relevance) (2010/367/EU)

Article 1

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the competent authorities make appropriate arrangements with wild bird observation and ringing organisations, hunting and other relevant organisations in order to ensure that those organisations are required to notify the competent authorities without delay of any abnormal mortality or significant disease outbreaks occurring in wild birds and in particular wild water birds.

Article 2

1. Member States shall ensure that immediately following receipt by the competent authority of any notification, as provided for in Article 1, and whenever no clear cause of disease other than avian influenza is identified, the competent authority shall arrange for:

(a) appropriate samples to be collected from dead birds and if possible from other birds which have been in contact with the dead birds;

(b) those samples must be subjected to laboratory tests for the detection of the avian influenza virus.

2. Sampling and testing procedures shall be carried out in accordance with Chapters II to VIII of the Diagnostic Manual for avian influenza approved by Decision 2006/437/EC.

3. Member States shall inform the Commission without delay in the event of the laboratory tests provided for in paragraph 1(b) showing positive results for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI).

Article 3

The surveillance programmes for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds to be carried out by Member States, in accordance with Article 4(1) of Directive 2005/94/EC, shall comply with the guidelines set out in Annexes I and II to this Decision.

Article 4

Without prejudice to the requirements provided for in Union legislation, the competent authority shall ensure that all positive and negative results of both serological and virological investigations for avian influenza obtained under the surveillance programmes for poultry and wild birds are reported every 6 months to the Commission. They shall be submitted via the Commission’s online system each year by 31 July for the preceding 6 months (1 January to 30 June) and by 31 January for the preceding 6 months (1 July to 31 December).

Article 5

Decisions 2005/731/EC and 2007/268/EC are repealed.

Article 6

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 25 June 2010.

For the Commission

John Dalli

Member of the Commission