Britains first H5N1 avian influenza

Britains first H5N1 avian influenza

Feb 2007 - Britain's first case of 
H5N1 avian influenza has been confirmed by government 
veterinarians. At least 2,500 turkeys died of the disease last 
week at a farm in Suffolk. 
The Bernard Matthews farm near Upper Holton held 159,000 
turkeys housed in 22 sheds, all of which have now been culled 
to prevent further spread of the highly pathogenic disease. 
David Miliband, secretary of state for environment, food and 
rural affairs, Defra, told the House of Commons today, "At 
this stage, we do not know how this disease arrived in 
Suffolk. A full epidemiological report will be produced by our 
experts as soon as possible and made publicly available." 
Turkeys are raised in close quarters in large sheds.  
Tests from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency have confirmed 
that the sample from the turkeys found dead on the farm did 
contain the H5N1 avian flu virus. 
This is the viral strain that has been responsible for 271 
human cases of bird flu worldwide and a total of 165 deaths. 
In addition, hundreds of millions of chickens, ducks and 
turkeys have been killed by the disease or culled to prevent 
its spread. 
The first sign of the outbreak occured last Tuesday when 55 
turkey chicks died and 16 had to be killed because they were 
sick. At least 185 more died the following day. 
The outbreak came to the attention of the government Thursday 
evening when the farm manager reported to Defra that deaths 
were taking place in one shed, which contained 7,000 birds, 
beyond the normal frequency and rate. 
Defra immediately enforced legal restrictions on the farm so 
that no birds, people or equipment could move off those 
premises, preventing any possible spread of the disease. 
The State Veterinary Service is enforcing a Protection Zone of 
three kilometers (two miles) and a Surveillance Zone of 10 km 
(six miles) around the premises where movement restrictions 
will be imposed and poultry must be isolated from wild birds. 
Defra has imposed a wider Restricted Zone covering East 
Suffolk and South East Norfolk, an area of 2,090 square 
kilometers where poultry and other captive birds must be 
housed or, if that is not possible, isolated from contact with 
wild birds. 
On the infected premises, the humane slaughter of all the 
remaining birds began on Saturday under the supervision of the 
State Veterinary Service, once the Health Protection Agency 
had issued medication and protective clothing to all workers. 
Defra's Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Fred Landeg confirmed 
that at eight o'clock this evening the culling operation was 
completed. He said, "I am thankful for the efforts of all 
involved in the culling operation and the swiftness with which 
this large process was carried out." 
The carcasses are being transported under escort in sealed 
leak-proof trucks to a plant in Staffordshire where they are 
being rendered. The left over material from the rendering of 
the birds is then incinerated to ensure total destruction. 
There is full protection for workers at the site and for the 
general public in the surrounding area, Miliband said. 
UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
David Miliband  
"The risk to the general public is judged by health experts to 
be negligible," Miliband said. "In particular, the Food 
Standards Agency advise that there is no risk in eating any 
sort of properly-cooked poultry, including turkey, and eggs." 
Bernard Matthews is a food processing company headquartered in 
Norwich, Norfolk, with 57 farms throughout Norfolk, Suffolk 
and Lincolnshire. They produce and market turkey and other 
poultry and fish products. 
Bernard Matthews raises eight million turkeys every year in 
the UK, feeding them a vegetarian diet of non-GM crops from 
the company's feed mills, a policy that was adopted in March 
2001 after pressure from consumer groups and Greenpeace. 
Bernard Matthews and one of his turkeys  

The State Veterinary Service is carrying out what Miliband 
called "rapid and urgent investigations" both on the infected 
premises themselves and by testing poultry farms and 
collecting dead wild birds in the protection and surveillance 
zones. 
All bird gatherings - including shows, markets and fairs, and 
pigeon races - have been banned throughout England, Scotland 
and Wales until further notice. 
Landeg urged keepers of birds "to be vigilant, to take care if 
handling birds which appear to be unwell and to observe high 
levels of biosecurity." 
Owners who suspect disease, should quickly consult their vet. 
Avian influenza is a notifiable disease and must be reported 
to the local Divisional Veterinary Manager in the State 
Veterinary Service. 
"There is no reason for public health concern," Landeg said. 
"Avian influenza is a disease of birds and whilst it can pass 
very rarely and with difficulty, to humans, this requires 
extremely close contact with infected birds, particularly 
feces." 
The Health Protection Agency has advised that, despite this 
incident, the current level of risk to humans from H5N1 
remains extremely low. 
The UK has become Europe's third country infected by H5N1 
during the current winter season. Outbreaks have been reported 
in Hungary on January 24 and in Krasnodar, Russia on January 
29. 
Targeted surveillance for high pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza 
and other avian influenza viruses in wild birds is in place 
throughout the UK and is ongoing.

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