Government Publishes Bird Flu Advice

British holidaymakers and travelers were today urged to avoid contact with birds and wash their hands frequently when visiting countries hit by avian flu.

The Department of Health has published information warning of possible risks from the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has hit countries including France, Germany, Greece and Turkey.

The information leaflet contains guidance about how to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus in the affected countries.

"The information we are distributing today is to make sure that people traveling to countries affected by H5N1 have up to date health advice," the chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said.

"H5N1 avian influenza is predominantly a disease of birds. The virus does not pass easily from birds to people, and has not yet been shown to pass from person to person.

"Where people have been infected, it was as a result of close contact with infected poultry or birds.

"The virus has caused severe disease and a high proportion of people have died ... it is important that travelers from the UK have clear factual information to assist them."

The leaflet points out that there are currently no restrictions on travel to affected areas, but says visitors should be aware of the risk and follow the advice given, which includes:

• Do not visit bird or poultry farms and markets

• Avoid close contact with live or dead poultry

• Do not eat raw or poorly-cooked poultry or poultry products, including blood

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. The bird flu leaflet will be available from GP surgeries, health centers and air and sea ports in England.

It says people who have been in contact with live or dead poultry in an affected country should be aware of the symptoms of bird flu in humans, which are similar to those of ordinary flu and may include:

• A fever, with a temperature of more than 38C

• Cough and shortness of breath

• Headache, sore throat and sore eyes

• Muscle aches

The severe H5N1 form of bird flu has so far been diagnosed in birds in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey and across South East Asia.

World Health Organization officials say there have been 173 human cases of avian influenza in seven countries, 93 of them fatal.

Serbian authorities confirm bird flu case

Meanwhile, Serbian authorities today said the first suspected case of bird flu in the Balkan country had been discovered.

Agriculture ministry officials said tests conducted on a wild swan found in north-western Serbia indicated it had died of H5 bird flu. Samples were being sent to a British lab to find out whether it was the virulent H5N1 form of the disease.

Several cases of the deadly bird flu strain have already been recorded in poultry and birds in neighboring Romania, Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Hungary.

Fears increase in Canada and Bahamas

Elsewhere, fears over avian flu were increasing following the quarantining of a number of farms in Canada and bird deaths on a Caribbean island.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered a quarantine of eight Quebec poultry farms that recently imported live ducks and hatching eggs from France. It has taken samples to test for the H5N1 virus, and results are expected within the next few days.

Canada has banned all live birds from France as well as poultry products that have not undergone heat processing.
In the Bahamas, the government confirmed that a number of birds had died of unexplained causes.

It attempted to calm alarm over possible avian flu, saying five birds - and not 21, as had been reported earlier - had died on the island of Inagua, which is famous for its flamingos.

"Preliminary field reports on the investigation of unexplained death of birds on the island of Inagua in the southern Bahamas were exaggerated," the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

Initial reports indicated that 15 flamingos, five roseate spoonbills and one cormorant had been found dead.

Experts dispatched to take test samples on Tuesday were due back in Nassau later today, and the government said it would issue a further report when they returned.

The southernmost island of the Bahamas chain, Inagua lies around 500 miles from Miami and 60 miles from the coasts of Haiti and Cuba.

The deaths sparked concerns over the Bahamas’ tourism industry, which employs around 40% of the work force.