New case of bird flu hits UK turkeys
Tuesday November 13 2007
BRITAIN'S farming industry was dealt another severe blow last night as a new case of bird flu was discovered in turkeys.
Some 5,000 birds, including ducks and geese, are due to be culled after turkeys tested positive for the contagious H5 strain of the virus on a farm on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, near Diss.
It is not yet known whether the birds were infected with a highly pathogenic form of the disease.
The discovery of the virus on the free-range farm, named by sources as Grange Farm, Redgrave, owned by Gressingham Foods, comes after a summer of misery for the farming industry already hit by foot and mouth and bluetongue.
But UK leaders moved to allay concerns that the new outbreak would lead to a shortage of turkeys in the run-up to Christmas.
And the Food Standard Agency reassured consumers that poultry products remain safe to eat as long as they are properly cooked.
Bird flu rarely affects humans and can only be transmitted to people through close contact with infected birds.
Reacting to the news of the outbreak, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan said that she was awaiting definitive test results.
The minister said that she and her officials had reviewed the department's contingency arrangements and reassessed the risk of the introduction of the disease into Ireland.
Officials here are in ongoing contact with their British counterparts in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in the North.
Ms Coughlan said that, in view of the information currently available, she was satisfied that her department has in place an extensive range of contingency measures, including sufficient legislative provisions.
She said she did not consider the necessity for any additional measures at this time but that as more information became available she would not hesitate to introduce further measures, should this be considered appropriate.
But the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) said the outbreak confirmed the need for poultry growers here to maintain a high level of vigilance.
Producers here have implemented extra measures, such as the installation of water chlorination systems, to ensure the health status of their flocks is protected.
Measures
IFA National Poultry Committee chairman Ned Morrissey said flock owners were putting the highest levels of bio-security measures in place to avoid any exposure to wild birds.
A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone has been established around the infected English farm. Inside these zones, bird movements will be restricted and all birds must be housed or isolated from contact with wild birds.
This is the second confirmed outbreak of avian flu in Britain. An outbreak of the H5N1 highly pathogenic strain was confirmed in Suffolk in February this year. In that case, the disease was contained to one premises and controlled both quickly and successfully.
The EU commission has been informed, while all poultry keepers on the UK poultry register will be notified, DEFRA added.
- Emily Beament in London
