February 5, 2007

Britain begins culling of bird flu-hit turkeys
 

Britain has began culling of 159,000 turkeys after government vets confirmed poultry at a Suffolk farm had died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Tests at the European Union laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey, confirmed the flu on a Bernard Matthews farm, after more than 2,000 birds died.

The avian flu strain found on the site is the highly pathogenic Asian strain, said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Government officials  reassured the public that there was no need to panic, as the risk to humans was "negligible".