Bird Flu - Avian Influenza - news - information

Monday, February 05, 2007

British poultry banned from Irish fairs

Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has banned the transport of British poultry to bird fairs in Ireland.

The measure is being introduced in response to an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus on a turkey farm in the Suffolk area.

The Food Safety Authority is reassuring consumers that the outbreak poses no risk whatsoever when eating properly cooked poultry.

Minister for Health Mary Harney has also said she is confident her department has the resources to deal with any possible mutation of the virus that could seriously affect human health.

Speaking in Dublin, meanwhile, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, said Irish people had no cause for concern at present and the necessary precautions would be taken to prevent the spread of the illness.

Avian influenza story source: Ireland News

British: No Risk from Bird Flu Outbreak

LONDON (AP)—An outbreak of bird flu on a big English turkey farm should pose no risk to the public or to the poultry industry, a government minister said Monday as investigators continued trying to identify the source of the infection.

About 2,500 turkeys died of H5N1 strain of bird flu on the farm owned by Bernard Matthews PLC, Europe’s largest turkey producer. It was the first time H5N1 had been found on a British farm.

All 159,000 turkeys at the farm, 100 miles northeast of London, were ordered to be slaughtered.

“I think what the public should know, not just here but around the world, is that the U.K. has very well-advanced contingency planning arrangements, that they are being followed by officials and farmers right around the country and they are being followed in an extremely prompt way,” Environment Secretary David Miliband told Sky News.

The Bernard Matthews company said none of the affected birds had entered the food chain and consumers were not at risk.

“All proper procedures were followed and we responded accordingly in good time,” the company said.

Staff from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds were patrolling the Minsmere reserve near Saxmundham, the nesting area closest to the Bernard Matthews farm, and 200 other reserves around the country.

The society said no problems had been detected so far.

Avian influenza story source: AP

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Suffolk officials advise area residents about bird flu prep and symptoms

Officials in Suffolk, England are advising poultry keepers close to, and within the area where the H5N1 bird flu virus was detected.

A county council spokeswoman said they are not visiting people door-to-door at this stage.

However, officers were carrying out spot checks within the area to check that poultry keepers are adhering to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) restrictions.

Trading standards are working with the State Veterinary Service, who are enforcing a protection zone of two miles radius..

The national general licence on bird gatherings has been revoked, and bird shows and pigeon racing will no longer be permitted.

The county’s trading standards department has also issued advice to those who keep poultry based on guidance from the Defra

It recommends:

Supply clean, fresh drinking water to your birds. Feed and water them under cover to avoid contamination by wild birds and other animals. Flush through and regularly clean water lines and drinkers.

Make sure your premises are clean and tidy. Spilled feed, litter and standing water attract wild birds and vermin. Dispose of litter and manure regularly and properly

Keep your birds separate from wild birds, waterfowl, pets and other animals. Control vermin.

Keep visitors and their vehicles away from your birds as much as possible. If they must have access, make sure vehicles and equipment are clean.

Make sure your clothes, footwear and hands are clean, before and after contact with birds. Any essential visitors should do the same.

Avoid sharing equipment. If you do have to share, make sure it is cleansed and disinfected before and after use. Regularly cleanse and disinfect crates and containers.

Dispose of damaged eggs and dead birds promptly and properly

Buy feed from a mill or supplier that operates in accordance with Defra and Agricultural Industries Confederation codes of practice.

Be vigilant when purchasing new stock. Use reputable sources. Isolate new birds and birds you have taken off your premises (for example, to a show).

If you suspect disease, act quickly and consult your vet. Bird flu is a notifiable disease and must be reported to your local veterinary service.

What is Bird Flu and the signs to look out for:

Avian influenza (also known as bird flu) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting the respiratory, digestive and/or nervous system of many species of birds.

The early signs of bird flu include; watery swelling of the head, blueing of the combs and wattles, dullness, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, and a drop in egg production.

Avian influenza story source: BBC

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Britain confirms first H5N1 bird flu outbreak in poultry

The following avian influenza story is an update to THIS NEWS ARTICLE

Britain confirmed its first outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu strain H5N1 in domestic poultry on Saturday at a farm run by Europe’s biggest turkey producer, Reuters reported.

The bird flu outbreak has killed about 2,500 turkeys since Thursday at the Bernard Matthews farm near Lowestoft in eastern England.  But no human case was reported.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was cited as saying that all 159,000 turkeys on the farm would have to be slaughtered to prevent spreading of the disease.

The British government set up a protection zone with a radius of 3 kilometers and surveillance zone of 7 kilometers around the affected farm to prevent the spreading of the H5N1 virus, the EU Commission was cited as saying.

Police already blocked access to the sheds housing the turkeys at the infected farm. In the protection zone, poultry movement except shipment to the slaughterhouse has been banned.

A similar outbreak occurred at a farm in eastern France a year ago, killing hundreds of turkeys. The outbreak was contained and no cases of H5N1 were reported in European poultry until last month when the virus killed thousands of geese on a farm in Hungary.

In May, another outbreak of bird flu H7N3 led to culling of 50,000 chickens at three farms in Norfolk.

Bird flu affects primarily birds.  So far, the H5N1 virus has caused deaths or destruction of more than 200 million of domestic poultry.  Migrating wildfowl is believed to be the main vehicle for the transmission of bird flu among birds.

Human bird flu cases are rare.  But the highly virulent H5N1 virus has infected at least more than 260 people, killing more than 164 in ten countries worldwide since 2003 when the virus reappeared in Asia.

Government officials and scientists have been worried that the persistent worldwide outbreaks of H5N1 may lead to a mutation in the virus making it more infectious yet less lethal.  As a result, it may infect millions of people and kill hundreds of thousands worldwide.

The bird flu outbreak in Britain was surprising as the virus was not expected to be so active at this time of year. High activity of the virus should be in spring when migrating birds are expected to spread the disease, according to bird flu expert Colin Butter of the Institute of Animal Health.

“The next thing we need to know is if this is a primary or secondary case. If this is a secondary case, it is much more serious. If this is the first case, or ‘reference case’, and we can stamp it out, the outbreak will be controlled,” Butter was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The Britain’s poultry industry reminds consumers that eating poultry is not a risk for the bird flu.  The World Health Organization said early that eating well cooked poultry meat is not a way to get infected.  But handling sick birds is considered the major route for human infection.

Avian influenza story source: Reuters

Friday, February 02, 2007

1,000 turkeys killed by bird flu in Suffolk (UK)

About 1,000 turkeys at a farm in Suffolk have died from bird flu, government vets have confirmed.

Vets from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the birds had tested positive for H5 avian flu.

It is not yet known if it is the H5N1 strain, which can be passed to humans.

Further tests are being carried out on the birds which died at a farm believed to be owned by Bernard Matthews, in Holton near Halesworth.

‘Significant mortality’

Defra said reports from the farm were received late on Thursday night and the premises were immediately placed under restrictions.

“A full investigation began at 0900 GMT this (Friday) morning, with samples being sent to Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge, for testing,” she said.

Sources at Defra have told the BBC that the alarm was raised by the farmer after he noticed “significant mortality” among his flock.

About 80% to 90% of the turkeys in the shed were showing signs of illness - going off their food and general malaise, which are among the symptoms of avian flu.
Avian influenza story source: BBC news

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Poultry ban enforced in Indonesian capital

Officials carrying out door-to-door checks in Jakarta to enforce a ban on domestic poultry have been overwhelmed by the number of birds they found.

The ban on raising poultry in the Indonesian capital was introduced to tackle bird flu which has killed six people so far this year in the nation.

Health and municipal officials searched backyards amid torrential rain after Jakarta governor Sutiyoso decreed that no birds other than licenced pets would be allowed in residential areas of the city.

Animal husbandry officials said Thursday more than 100,000 birds had been slaughtered so far, but it is estimated there are more than one million birds still in Jakarta.

Sutiyoso admitted many birds were found despite residents being given two weeks’ notice to kill them.

“The huge numbers of poultry in Jakarta are overwhelming officers,” he said without giving numbers.

In East Jakarta, one woman said she was reluctant to get rid of her young free-range chickens.

“Mam, we will give you seven days to either sell, consume or move your chickens,” district head Ahmad Nizar told her in a broadcast on ElShinta radio.

“My chickens are too young to sell or eat,” she replied.

Also in East Jakarta, 15-year-old Ismail told AFP he had sold almost all his chickens and other birds.

“I keep one upstairs, I don’t want to give away Ipuk,” the teenager said of his favourite pet. People are allowed to keep pet birds as long as they get a health certificate for them.

“I don’t know where I can get a certificate, I just hope they will not get my bird,” Ismail said.

Officials say about 80 percent of pet birds have been given certificates.

Under the measure, poultry farms and slaughter houses are also to be moved away from residential areas.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari has said the ban would be extended to cover the whole country, but the World Health Organisation warned it would be difficult to enforce in areas that central authorities do not control.

Efforts to curb the spread of the virus have been hampered by reluctance of backyard farmers to hand over their sick or potentially infected birds for slaughter.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has recommended Indonesia carry out blanket vaccination in heavily infected areas and of all day-old chicks before they are distributed across the country.

Source of avianinfluenza story: AFP

New bird flu outbreak in Ang Thong (Thailand)

Thailand Thursday confirmed its third bird flu outbreak this year among household chickens in the central province of Ang Thong, near the ancient capital of Ayutthaya.

Bureau of Livestock Disease Control Director Nirandorn Uangtrakulsuk said lab tests had confirmed the H5N1 strain of avian influenza among the free range chickens, six of which had recently died.

The bureau ordered the remaining ten chickens in the household compound and all poultry within a 200-metre radius of the house to be culled on Wednesday.

It was the third case of bird flu detected in Thailand this year. The two former outbreaks were also at small free range chicken farms.

So far there have been no reports of an H5N1 outbreak at a commercial-scale chicken or duck farm in Thailand this year.

The two other outbreaks were reported at a farm in Nong Khai, 480 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, and among domesticated ducks in Phitsanulok province, northern Thailand, last month.

The official Thai News Agency reported that Thailand, Laos and Cambodia held talks in Bangkok on how to implement more efficient monitoring of avian influenza, as well as other communicable diseases.

Their “Joint Action Programmes on Communicable Disease Control on the Thai-Cambodian and Thai-Lao Borders” reviewed the current procedures along common borders. Officials sat in from the World Health Organisation, the Kenan Institute Asia, Japan International Cooperation Agency and the United Nations Aids programme.

Source of Avian influenza story: Thai News Agency