FLU vaccination programmes will not be extended in our region, despite fresh warnings of the risk of a major outbreak.

The European Union's Health Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, said yesterday there should be precautionary vaccinations of vulnerable groups throughout Europe, after it was confirmed by experts that a deadly strain of bird flu had been found in Turkey.

But Dr Louise Coole, pictured, consultant in communicable diseases at North Yorkshire Health Protection Unit, said today there were no plans to provide extra flu jabs to people at risk.

"The vaccinations will continue to be recommended to those over 65 and who have illnesses such as asthma, diabetes or chronic renal problems," she said.

"Those people should visit their GP for their jab - but there has been no guidance from the Government on providing vaccinations for others such as children.

"If a new policy procedure is brought out then we will have to comply with it."

The Evening Press revealed yesterday that NHS chiefs have been working with other agencies to draw up major contingency plans to counter the flu threat.

Dr Coole said experts believed a mutated form of bird flu - which can spread from human to human, unlike the strain found in the Far East and now in Turkey, which can be spread from poultry to humans - was likely to appear in Britain.

A mutated strain could lead to a major outbreak affecting large numbers of the population, known as a pandemic.

But Dr Coole said vaccinating against human flu would not solve the problem, because it was not definitely known how the mutation might happen, and therefore what form it might take.

The strain of bird flu currently detected in Turkey, known as H5N1, does not easily affect humans - but 117 people have caught it since 2003 and 60 have died.

These were mainly poultry workers in Asia, and as a result all those working with chickens and other bird stock in those countries had been vaccinated against bird flu.

"If there was a case of avian flu found in this country, we might have to start thinking of such a vaccination programme," said Dr Coole.

Mr Kyrianou warned there should be "an increase of vaccination among the risk population for the seasonal flu in any event - not least because this is part of our preparedness plan to deal with the potential or possible pandemic".

But the Department of Health said there were no plans to extend its current vaccination programme in this country. A spokeswoman said: "The European Commissioner has raised an important point - that people at

risk of seasonal flu should make sure that they get their routine vaccination as they do every year.

"We already have well established arrangements for vaccination against seasonal flu and our programme is one of the most effective in Europe."

Updated: 10:11 Friday, October 14, 2005