April 20, 2007

UK farm's bird flu outbreak likely came from Hungary

No definitive source has been found for a bird flu outbreak on a UK turkey farm earlier this year, but it was likely caused by poultry meat imported from Hungary, a government report said Thursday (Apr 19).

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the H5N1 bird flu strain found on a farm in Holton, 130 miles (210 kilometres) north-east of London, in February was essentially identical to the strain that had earlier infected geese in southern Hungary.

The department's epidemiology report on the outbreak said that while "no specific proven source has been found," the disease could have come to the UK from Hungarian turkeys infected by wild birds that had also infected the geese.

The country's chief veterinary officer, Debby Reynolds, said the outbreak "appears to be the outcome of a series of normally low probability events and circumstances which cumulatively led to the introduction of disease".

The government also announced that the turkey processing firm hit by the outbreak, Bernard Matthews Ltd, would receive almost GBP600,000 in compensation for having to slaughter 159,000 healthy turkeys.