April 7, 2006

 

Bird flu death in wild swan gives Britons the jitters

 

 

Britons were urged to stay calm on Friday a day after the country announced its first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu in a wild bird.

 

Tests were being carried out on 14 more birds after authorities confirmed the lethal virus had been found in a dead swan in Scotland, making Britain the 14th country in the European Union to be hit by H5N1.

 

The Veterinary Laboratories Agency said it is carrying out tests for possible bird flu in 12 swans and two other species from Scotland.

 

A swan found last week in the town of Cellardyke died from the same H5N1 strain that has killed more than 100 people, mainly in Asia.

 

A "wild bird risk" area was extended around the spot to 1,000 square miles as the government scrambled to contain the spread of the disease.

 

All farmers and poultry owners in the area have been asked to keep their animals indoors. The authorities have come under fire for taking so long to establish that the dead swan had been carrying the lethal strain of bird flu.

 

The case is heightening fears of the illness striking poultry farms.

 

While poultry farmers worry about a drop in sales, health experts are worried that the virus may mutate into a form that could cause a pandemic that could kill millions of Britons.

 

Newspapers are urging the populace to remain calm and to continue normal chicken consumption patterns. The papers said that an outbreak was far more likely in Asia, where people work in close contact with poultry, than in Europe.

 

In Cellardyke, the place where the dead swan was found, police manned roadblocks throughout the day Thursday, asking motorists if they had any chickens, ducks or turkeys inside their cars or trucks. There are 175 registered poultry farms in the area, including 48 which house some 260,000 free range birds.