H5N1 Killed 2600 Poultry In England

Both British and European Authorities have confirmed that the bird flu which killed 2,600 turkeys at a Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, was of the H5N1 strain. The remaining 150,000 turkeys on the farm will be slaughtered, say authorities. Further tests are being carried out to find out whether this H5N1 is the same strain as the Asian one.

This is the first case of H5N1 infection in a British farm. Experts believe the turkeys caught bird flu from wild birds. As the turkeys were very young, none of them had entered the food chain, said the Bernard Matthews company. A spokesman for DEFRA said no produce had left the farm. Everyone who works on the farm will be given Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug.

The farm, about 27 km south-west of Lowestoft, is now within a three-kilometre protection zone, a further 10 kilometer radius has been set up as a 'surveillance zone'.

Authorities stressed that the infection only affected turkeys - there is currently no threat to human health.

Peter Kendall, President, National Farmers' Union (NFU), in a BBC interview said all the focus will now be on eradicating this outbreak. He said the NFU will make sure they get the message across about how well this will be managed and controlled. He added that all farmers must be extremely vigilant and check their flocks carefully. Kendall said poultry is still safe to eat in the UK.

For a period several bird events and sports will not be allowed in England, such as pigeon racing and bird shows.

Comment by Editor of Medical News Today
The British press will be going through everything with a fine tooth-comb. This will be a real test for the authorities. Any mistakes, or examples of incompetence will be published at lightning speed.

The following European Union countries have now been affected by bird flu:
Austria, Czech Rep, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK.

-- Bernard Matthews (Company that owns the farm)
-- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
-- National Farmers' Union
-- Health Protection Agency

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today