UK Alert As Bird Flu Death Confirmed

The first bird flu death in France was confirmed last night, as pressure grew from EU leaders for Britain to take more drastic measures against the disease. Officials said the death of a wild duck near Lyons ‘increased the likelihood’ that the disease would reach this country.

Germany, France and Holland are among the countries that want tougher measures across all member countries to prevent domestic poultry being infected by migrations of wild birds.

Medical experts last night confirmed that the wild duck was carrying the H5N1 virus. Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Germany have found the virus in birds, while suspected samples from Austria and Hungary are being tested at a special laboratory near Weybridge, Surrey. Panic over the discoveries has led to chicken sales collapsing across the continent, prompting the UK’s National Poultry Board to issue a statement telling consumers its meat is ‘perfectly safe’.

Eight people are awaiting test results for the H5N1 virus in the Maharashtra area of India, while four more - including three children - are under observation.

At a meeting in Brussels tomorrow, Germany’s agriculture minister Horst Seehofer is likely to call for measures already imposed in Germany, including accelerating a ban on keeping poultry outdoors, to be extended across the EU. France and Holland are also calling for mass vaccinations of poultry flocks to stop the spread of the disease. They are likely to press Britain and other countries to follow suit. ‘Bird flu can only be fought on an international level,’ Seehofer said.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said yesterday that despite the case in France, it had not changed its policy that more drastic measures will only be implemented if a special advisory group of experts decides the risk is high enough to make the expense and disruption necessary. France is Europe’s biggest poultry producer and the continent’s crossroads for migratory birds.

‘This is a new development which increases the likelihood that H5N1 may be found in the UK,’ said a statement. ‘However, we believe the precautionary measures we have in place remain sufficient and appropriate for the time being.’

About 3,500 birds have been tested in Britain since October, but none has so far been found to carry the virus, said Fred Landeg, Defra’s deputy chief veterinary officer. A hotline to report bird deaths is taking 340 calls a day.

Britain’s contingency measures include exclusion zones around sites where infected birds are found, a ban on all movement of poultry, mass vaccinations and an order to put all poultry flocks under cover.

‘In different parts of Europe people have been responding in different ways,’ said a department spokesman. ‘My understanding is that our contingency plan is very similar to what’s in everybody’s contingency plan.’

The concern about vaccinations is they take three to five weeks to give immunity, risk putting handlers in danger and could lead to a worldwide ban on European poultry. The EU has reassured organic farmers they would not lose their lucrative status if they move birds indoors, as long as there is reasonable space.

More than 10,000 people have registered chicken flocks of 50 birds or more with Defra, and the industry is worth £1.3bn a year to farmers.

Bird flu has killed 91 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003, according to the World Health Organization. Most victims were infected after handling sick birds, but scientists fear H5N1 could mutate and pass between humans.