Deadly Strain of Bird Flu Confirmed in British Turkeys

This is the second occurrence of the lethal H5N1 bird flu in England this year. H5N1 is the same viral strain that has caused 206 human deaths in 12 countries and the deaths of hundreds of millions of birds from either the disease or from culling to prevent the spread of the virus.

Turkeys in England have been infected with avian influenza. (Photo credit unknown)

The Acting Chief Veterinary Officer Fred Landeg says further characterization of the virus is in progress, which may give an indication of the origin of the strain.

A full epidemiological investigation and tracings of any dangerous contacts are underway and all possible sources of the outbreak will be investigated, he said.

"We are keeping all poultry keepers registered on the Great Britain Poultry register informed of the developing situation and I must stress how important it is for all poultry keepers in the locality to be extremely vigilant," said Landeg. "They must report any suspicions of disease to their Animal Health office immediately and practice the highest levels of biosecurity."

"We have faced H5N1 once already this year, but there is still significant uncertainty surrounding this outbreak," he said. "Swift reporting of disease and stringent biosecurity is essential to controlling this disease and we are working to our established contingency plans."

An outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in Suffolk was confirmed in February at a Bernard Matthews poultry farm in Lowestoft. The outbreak was contained and in June the facility received reimbursement of £589,356 for the clinically healthy birds compulsorily killed to prevent disease spread, as required by the Animal Health Act 1981.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Hilary Benn, said today in the House of Commons, "The health and safety of those involved in the operations are the priority, and a strict approach is being taken. All workers on the premises already potentially exposed to infection have been given Tamiflu and all those who will be going to the infected premises will also be given Tamiflu prior to commencing operations."

"Due to the nature of these premises, this work may take some time to complete," said Benn. "Culled birds will be transported to a plant in Staffordshire in sealed, leak-proof containers which will be escorted at all times. This is the nearest suitable plant for rendering in these circumstances. It is the same plant we used in the outbreak in February, also in Suffolk, and it is geared up to deal quickly with large numbers of carcases under biosecure conditions."

To control this latest outbreak, local authorities and the national Animal Health agency are enforcing a three kilometer Protection Zone, a 10 kilometer Surveillance Zone and a wider Restricted Zone covering the whole of Suffolk and most of Norfolk around the infected premises.

In these zones, movement restrictions will be imposed and poultry must be isolated from wild birds.

In addition, it has been announced that the national general license on bird gatherings has been revoked, and bird shows and pigeon racing will not be permitted for the time being.

Nation animal health authorities say they are "urgently considering" with ornithological and other experts what wider measures may be needed.

The European Commission has been informed of this development. The export of poultry to the EU remains permitted under EU law from areas outside of the Restricted Zone.

"With third countries we have notified all posts around the world and we are withdrawing export health certificates for those third countries which already require complete AI freedom," said Benn.

Avian influenza is a disease of birds and while it can pass very rarely and with difficulty to humans, this requires extremely close contact with infected birds, particularly feces.

Advice from the Food Standards Agency remains that properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

In Indonesia, Monday, the Ministry of Health announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 31 year old man from the Bengkalis District, Riau Province developed symptoms on October 31, was hospitalized on November 3 and died in an avian influenza referral hospital on November 6.

Identification of the source of his infection is ongoing and includes investigation into a large swallow farm in close proximity to his home.

Of the 113 human cases of bird flu that have been confirmed to date in Indonesia, 91 have been fatal.

Of the 335 human cases of H5N1 bird flu in 12 countries reported to the World Health Organization since the latest outbreak began four years ago, 206 of them have been fatal.

There have been no human fatalities in Great Britain.

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