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Bird flu outbreak in the UK6 February 2007 Over 2,000 turkeys on a Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk have died after becoming infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu. How did the birds become infected?At the moment it's not known what caused the outbreak. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are still carrying out tests to find out the source of the virus. It is possible that the turkeys were infected by a wild bird that managed to get into the plant or that infected faeces were trodden into the farm. Another theory is that the virus came from Hungary. The strain of the virus is the same as one found in wild geese in Hungary in January where Bernard Matthews also owns farms. However, Defra said no live birds have come to England from Hungary in the last year and a Bernard Matthews representative said all the birds at the Suffolk plant were British. What is H5N1?There are lots of different types of bird flu, also called avian flu (avian relates to birds and flu is the usual term for influenza). These range from being not very dangerous to extremely harmful, such as the H5 sub-types. There are nine variations of H5 and again each of these differs in severity. H5N1 is one of these and originated in Asia. The Department of Health describes H5N1 as 'highly pathogenic'. This means that it causes disease very easily. Many wild birds that migrate naturally carry the virus and do not usually develop the disease. However, if a native bird gets infected, they are more likely to become ill. Is there a risk to humans?Bird flu is mainly a disease of poultry and not of humans. However, the World Health Organization has confirmed 271 human cases of bird flu and 165 deaths. These have mostly been in Asia and Africa in countries including China, Indonesia and Egypt. All of the people who died were either poultry workers or had been in very close contact with infected birds. The virus is very contagious and can survive in bird faeces for up to a month. It is very rare for the virus to be passed from one human to another. There have been a few limited cases of bird flu occurring in members of the same family who have been in very close contact. However, it is impossible to confirm if the virus actually passed between them. Dr Maria Zambon, an influenza expert at The Health Protection Agency (HPA), commented on the HPA website that the current level of risk to humans from avian flu is extremely low. She said that so far, most H5N1 infections are thought to have occurred through close contact with live or dead infected poultry. The Food Standards Agency has confirmed that in the UK it is still safe to eat poultry and eggs, providing they have been hygienically prepared and thoroughly cooked. Is there a bird flu vaccine?At the moment scientists are still developing a vaccine for bird flu. Recently, the UK government announced that seasonal vaccination for the human form of flu would be available free to poultry workers. This is because if someone became infected with both human and bird flu at the same time, the viruses could mix and produce a new strain. This would be dangerous because nobody would have any immunity to it and it could spread very quickly. Workers at the farm in Suffolk have been offered oseltamivir (Tamiflu) as a precaution. Oseltamivir is an anti-viral drug that works against the human form of flu. It won't stop you from getting flu but it aims to prevent the virus from multiplying if it gets inside the body. Further information
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