March 12, 2007

Investigators find link between UK bird flu case and Hungarian outbreaks

Despite earlier assertions that the UK case of bird flu weeks ago had nothing to do with bird flu cases in Hungary, it has now emerged that tonnes of turkey from Hungary did pass through the infected plant in Suffolk, England.

UK Public health minister, Caroline Flint, said 850 tonnes of turkey, some from Hungary, passed through the infected plant in Suffolk.

Hungary has long been suspected as the source of the H5N1 case at a poultry farm in the UK.

It was also revealed that 37 tonnes of partly processed turkeys have been arriving in Britain from Bernard Matthews Hungarian plants every week. One delivery arrived at the plant just a few days before the bird flu case was later discovered. Back then, workers had already spotted signs of illness in the eight-week-old chicks.

The Food Standards Agency said none of the meat went near the sheds where infected birds were found and it was processed on other areas of the site. No personnel from the meat processing unit had come into contact with live birds at another part of the site, the minister said.