On 18 October 2004, a Thai man travelling from Bangkok to Brussels was apprehended by customs officials at Brussels international airport, and found to be illegally carrying two mountain hawk eagles (Spizaetus Nipalensis) in his hand luggage [1,2]. These birds were wrapped in a cotton cloth, with the heads free, and inserted headfirst in a bamboo tube around 60 cm in length, with one end (the feet end) open [3]. The two tubes were in a kind of sports bag, with the zip not totally closed to allow some air to enter.

The birds were immediately put into quarantine at the airport. They later tested positive for avian influenza H5N1, which is currently circulating widely in southeast Asia, and were euthanised.
The H5N1 diagnosis was made using a haemaglutination inhibition test using monospecific polysera and confirmed by H5 specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequencing is ongoing. The high pathogenicity of the virus was confirmed using the intravenous pathogenicity index. Results were available on 22 October, testing was carried out at the Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre (VAR/CODA/CERVA), Brussels.

Sequence data of the virus will be available from the CODA/CERVA veterinary health Belgian reference laboratory next week. The information will be sent to the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE, http://www.oie.int) reference laboratory in Weybridge, United Kingdom and the World Health Organization H5 reference laboratory.

The Thai man, who received prophylactic treatment on 24 October, travelled to Vienna from Bangkok on 17/18 October with EVA Airways, flight number BR 0061, and then got a connecting flight to Brussels on 18 October with Austrian Airlines, flight number OS351. Passengers on these flights were advised to get medical advice if they had any flu-like symptoms (cough, fever, rhinorrhoea).

Twenty-five people who had been in direct or indirect (same room) as the infected eagles (custom officers, a veterinarian, laboratory staff) were examined and received oseltamivir prophylaxis. Swabs (2 nasal and 1 throat) from 23 people (21 custom officers, the Thai passenger and his brother) were tested on 24 October 2004. A tear swab was also collected from the veterinarian, who developed bilateral conjunctivitis three days after having handled the birds. His family was given prophylaxis.
Swabs were tested using two nested RT-PCR: types A and B, and H5 sub-type, at the division of Virology, Scientific Institute of Public Health, Belgium, Brussels. All results (including the tear swab) were negative for H5.

Other birds had also been kept in the airport quarantine area between 18 October and 23 October (day of controlled disinfection), and therefore were potentially exposed to the avian influenza virus. Approximately 200 parrots and 600 smaller birds that had been in contact with some of these birds were culled preventively in Belgium. All PCR tests on samples from these birds have been negative so far. Other birds had already been shipped to the Netherlands and Russia. The authorities of these countries have been informed.

The eagles had been ordered by a Belgian falconer who offered 7500 Euro for each bird. This falconer already owned four other eagles of the same species. These two birds detected by customs may reflect a much larger underlying problem of bird smuggling into European Union member states. They easily remain undetected because airport scanners only detect metal objects
Specific methods for the systematic detection of live animals (e.g. dogs) should be considered at EU airports and borders.

In February, the European Commission banned imports of live birds and poultry products from countries in south Asia, including Thailand, and Malaysia, [3,4]. This ban has been extended to 31 March 2005.