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13/11/2007
Suffolk Bird Flu Strain Is Deadly H5N1
Tests conducted on birds at a farm in Suffolk have found that they were infected with the highly infectious H5N1 strain of the disease.
Around 6,500 birds, including turkeys, ducks and geese, were culled at Redgrave Park Farm near Diss, are being slaughtered.
It is understood that 60 turkeys out of a flock of 1,000 were found dead on the site.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that the initial sequence data indicated that the outbreak was closely related to outbreaks in the Czech Republic and Germany, which suggested that the source of the disease may have been wild birds.
However, deputy chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg said: "We are looking with an open mind as to the origin and all potential sources of the origin will be investigated."
Mr Landeg also confirmed that there was a lake at the site with a number of wild fowl on it.
A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have been set up around the affected area.
Restrictions on movement in Suffolk and much of Norfolk have also been put in place.
Redgrave Poultry, which rents the farm, confirmed that antiviral drugs have been given to all employees at the farm as a precautionary measure.
Around 160,000 birds were culled after an outbreak of the H5N1 virus was discovered at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk in February.
The latest discovery has prompted fears of a possible turkey shortage over the Christmas period.
However, Charles Bourns, chairman of the poultry board of the National Farmers' Union, has stressed that the supply of turkeys over the Christmas period would not be affected.
(KMcA)
Around 6,500 birds, including turkeys, ducks and geese, were culled at Redgrave Park Farm near Diss, are being slaughtered.
It is understood that 60 turkeys out of a flock of 1,000 were found dead on the site.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that the initial sequence data indicated that the outbreak was closely related to outbreaks in the Czech Republic and Germany, which suggested that the source of the disease may have been wild birds.
However, deputy chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg said: "We are looking with an open mind as to the origin and all potential sources of the origin will be investigated."
Mr Landeg also confirmed that there was a lake at the site with a number of wild fowl on it.
A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have been set up around the affected area.
Restrictions on movement in Suffolk and much of Norfolk have also been put in place.
Redgrave Poultry, which rents the farm, confirmed that antiviral drugs have been given to all employees at the farm as a precautionary measure.
Around 160,000 birds were culled after an outbreak of the H5N1 virus was discovered at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk in February.
The latest discovery has prompted fears of a possible turkey shortage over the Christmas period.
However, Charles Bourns, chairman of the poultry board of the National Farmers' Union, has stressed that the supply of turkeys over the Christmas period would not be affected.
(KMcA)
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Bird flu farm exclusion zone 'may have been broken'
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Bird flu farm exclusion zone 'may have been broken'
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