Thursday, April 06, 2006
Bird flu confirmed in Britain
London (dpa) - A dead swan recovered in Scotland has been found to carry the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu, British officials confirmed Thursday.
The BBC, quoting a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said tests on the swan had proved positive, confirming the first case of H5N1 birdflue in Britain.
The tests were carried out by experts at the European Union’s bird flu laboratory in Weybridge, in southern Britain.
The swan was found floating in the harbour of the small port of Cellardyke, on the south-east coast of Scotland, on March 29.