Against a backdrop of a bird flu outbreak in Turkey, Brstilo called on Croatian hunters and poultry breeders to continue cooperating with relevant services and report any suspicious cases.
He recalled that Croatia was the first country in Europe to succeed in combating the virus of this contagious disease applying stringent measures immediately after wild swans died of bird flu in eastern Croatia on 21 October 2005.
After the occurrence of the disease, all the domestic poultry in the area around the town of Nasice was culled so as to prevent the transfer of the deadly virus to domestic poultry.
The poultry in the area in question still cannot be kept in the open.
Brstilo said that the monitoring of migratory birds flying over Croatia would be stepped up at the end of February.
Croatian epidemiologists have told Hina that the situation is calm in terms of possible new cases of bird flu.
They recalled that humans could contract avian influenza only if they were in close contact with sick birds or poultry.
Croatia is prepared for a possible outbreak of bird flu and has a national plan to counter the disease.
Agriculture Minister Petar Cobankovic will take part in a conference on avian influenza, which the United Nations, the World Health Organisation and China are organising in Beijing on 17-18 January.
Agriculture Ministry spokesman Mladen Pavic said that the WHO had recommended that other countries follow Croatia's model as an efficient method of combating this disease.