UK: Dead swans spotted, bf experts alerted

[Cautel]

Birds migrating from Africa 'could bring H5N1 to UK by spring'

LOUISE GRAY
The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=204432006

BIRD flu could spread to Britain by the spring, experts warned last night after the first case was detected in Africa.

Some 46,000 birds were killed after the H5N1 strain, which has killed more than 70 people worldwide, was discovered at a poultry farm in the north of Nigeria. The farm lies close to the migratory route of small birds wintering in Africa before flying to Europe in the spring.

Ornithologists said that although it was unlikely such small birds could carry the virus far, finding H5N1 in Africa increased the risk of wild birds bringing it to Britain.

Dr Paul Walton, the species and habitats officer for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland, said small birds such as swallows, martins, warblers, wheatears and others that winter in Africa would return to Britain in April.

"There is a migration in spring from Africa into Europe and Britain of birds that breed here and then winter down in Africa," he said. "There is a slightly increased risk wild birds will bring H5N1 into Britain, although it is a theoretical risk. It was low and now it is slightly higher."

Dr Walton said the outbreak in Nigeria was quite far inland, so migrating birds were unlikely to come into direct contact, but if it spread to bird populations on the country's coast, it could infect birds which travel to Britain.

He said: "Potentially, it is significant because there is to be a big migration, but there are factors which counter the risk."
For example, he said, the small birds were likely to die before they could carry the virus far.

H5N1 can jump from birds to humans. Although it has not yet jumped from human to human, it is thought the more the virus spreads, the greater will be the opportunity for it to mutate into a strain that could kill millions in a global pandemic.

Dr Walton said the emphasis should remain on preventing the spread of the virus among birds. He said H5N1 had spread mainly by movement of poultry across the world, and he called for an end to the trade in exotic wild species

He said the latest outbreak was probably through poultry movement, as the area was not on any migratory routes already affected by bird flu.

Dr Walton said the latest outbreak was "bad news" for Africa, where many people live close to their animals and public health services are weak.

The Nigerian outbreak, on a farm in Jaji, in the northern state of Kaduna, was first reported by the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health. The agriculture minister, Adamu Bello, confirmed bird flu had been detected in samples taken on 16 January from birds on the farm. An Italian laboratory then identified it as the H5N1 strain.

Related topic

• Bird flu
  http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=161

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=204432006
Last updated: 09-Feb-06 01:08 GMT

[Cautel]

UK - Virus alert as swans flee the cold

Virus alert as swans flee the cold

By Valerie Elliot
February 16, 2006
The Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...042747,00.html

Infected birds from the Black Sea area flying west could put Britain at risk

A SUDDEN cold snap on the Continent this week will raise the risk of the lethal avian flu strain arriving in Britain.


Veterinary and wildlife experts are convinced that the mute swans that have been found with H5N1 in Europe have been forced out of the Caspian and Black Sea areas, where the virus is rife, and have flown south and west in search of warmth and food.

It is estimated that some 15,000 are now scattered throughout Europe.

Peter Cranswick, the head of international monitoring of bird species at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, said yesterday that another cold snap in those countries would bring the swans even further west, probably to the Netherlands and Belgium.

A further four or five-day cold spell could persuade them to cross the Channel to Britain.

Mr Cranswick, one of the Government’s key advisers on migratory bird movements, insisted he was not complacent, but he was optimistic. “Britain is two steps removed from the threat of the virus and we have not had these type of cold snaps since 1995-96,” he said.

Mr Cranswick was also confident that because the mute swans were outside their favoured habitat, where they like to breed, they would seek to return as quickly as possible.

He also noted that the mute swan population in Britain did not tend to move about. “In the UK people love swans and thousands are ringed every year, so we know where they go. Only one British ringed mute swan has been found in France in years. That is how settled they are here.” The hooper and Bewick’s swans which had migrated to Britain for the winter had been in the country since late summer and autumn and therefore were unlikely to be in contact with the virus.

They were now preparing to leave Britain and return to their breeding grounds in Iceland, Greenland and the northern Russian tundra. The next threat from them would occur in late summer and autumn when they return again.

Germany, which is very conscious of health scares, is to press for strict food controls at airports and EU border crossings as a further defence against the virus. Horst Seehofer, the German Agriculture Minister, is to demand the extra safeguard at a meeting of EU farm ministers next Monday.

The species considered most at risk are ducks, geese and other waterfowl. Many of those birds winter in Africa, including Nigeria where avian flu is ravaging chicken farms. But they do not fly back to their breeding grounds via Britain or Central Europe. Their main route is over the Sahara towards Egypt.

Species which do return to Britain from Africa include the swallow, wagtail and chat. Swallows tend to gather on the Western Cape in South Africa and may fly over West Africa, including Nigeria, for the return journey.

But Mr Cranswick said that those migratory birds tended not to mix with poultry. In addition, virologists did not believe that they could carry the virus. “We can’t absolutely say this but all the evidence we have about H5N1 is that it is a disease of poultry and wildfowl.”

[Clytie]

Bird flu edges closer to UK shores

[February 16, 2006]

Bird flu edges closer to UK shores

(The Scotsman Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)

http://www.tmcnet.com/scripts/print-page.aspx?PagePrint=http%3a%2f%2fwww.tmcnet.com%2f usubmit%2f2006%2f02%2f16%2f1378926.htm

THE spectre of bird flu loomed closer to British shores yesterday, with Danish authorities testing nine dead swans and experts warning of the need to ensure the disease did not become "an epidemic in Europe".


The World Health Organisation (WHO) said there had been large outbreaks in countries on the borders of the European Union - Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Romania and Turkey - and the virus appeared to be spreading ever further west.

Responding to the growing sense of crisis, the European Commission said it would commit GBP 1.3 million to fund the testing of wild and domestic birds in all EU countries in the hope of providing an early warning of any outbreak.

The initial discovery of the H5N1 virus in dead swans in Greece has since been matched by similar outbreaks in swans in fellow EU member states Italy and Germany. Austria and Slovenia are still awaiting confirmation from the EU's laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey, that outbreaks of the H5 group of flu viruses in swans on their territory are also the H5N1 strain.

And yesterday, Hungary notified Brussels of H5 in three dead wild swans, while Denmark revealed it was carrying out tests on swans found dead on the islands of Falster and Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

All the birds involved are believed to be migratory swans driven west by particularly cold weather in Ukraine and other countries. This makes it almost impossible to predict where the next outbreak will crop up.

Gudjon Magnusson, of the WHO, warned of the danger posed by the large outbreaks in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Romania and Turkey and said they had to be addressed.

"It is up to us to see that avian flu doesn't become an epidemic in Europe," he said, speaking in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

David Nabarro, the United Nations co-ordinator for combating bird flu, warned that Ukraine - where H5N1 has spread to 24 villages, with suspicious bird deaths in 18 others - was at high risk of further outbreaks.

"The threat is still there," he said. "Avian influenza will continue to come to Ukraine ... health services must be ready and prepared to deal with people who are infected with avian flu and to be ready for the possible arrival of human-to-human transmission."

The EU plan foresees testing 60,000 wild birds and 300,0000 domestic birds for the H5N1 virus in the hope of finding infected birds as soon as possible.

"The aim of these national surveillance programmes is to provide early detection of cases of avian influenza, particularly in wild birds and poultry in the European Union," said an EU spokesman, Philip Tod.

More than one-fifth of the EU cash is earmarked for Austria, with about GBP 65,000 going to the UK and nearly GBP 30,000 to Ireland.

[Cautel]

Ireland: Bird Flu Outbreak Would Devastate Economy

Bird flu outbreak would devastate economy, say experts

16/02/2006 - 13:17:05
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/02/16/story244978.html

Officials from the National Disease Surveillance Centre have warned that an outbreak of bird flu could have devastating consequences for the Irish economy.

The virus has already been detected in dead migratory birds in several EU states.

Speaking to the Oireachtas Health Committee today, Dr Darina O'Flanagan said an outbreak in Ireland would see 25% of the workforce taking between five to eight working days off over a three-month period.

"This will have an impact not just on the health services, but also right throughout the system, including the garda?, the Army, essential services, food production, distribution and transport," she said.

http://www.adireland.com/adview.php?...233&n=adcb56a4

[Clytie]

One-mile zone plan to stop UK bird flu spread

One-mile zone plan to stop UK bird flu spread


Thu 16 Feb 2006
The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?...6&format=print

ONE-MILE exclusion zones would be established if wild birds in Britain were found to be infected with deadly avian flu.

The emergency plan was announced following confirmation that bird flu has been found in wild swans in Germany, Austria and Denmark.

The exclusion zones, similar to those which operated during the foot-and-mouth crisis five years ago, are designed to protect humans and stop poultry from becoming infected by wild birds.

All movements of poultry would be halted inside the exclusion zones, footpaths may be closed and all poultry and pigs in the area would be tested for the virus. If any are infected, the entire flock or herd would be slaughtered.

There would also be six-mile surveillance zones, with strict veterinary checks on any poultry or pig farms. Farmers in the surveillance zone would need a licence before allowing any of their chickens to enter the food chain.

The controls would last at least 21 days in exclusion zones and 30 days in surveillance zones.

Web links

• Dept of Health - pandemic flu
  http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidan...demicFlu/fs/en
• WHO - Bird Flu fact sheet
  http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_01_15/en/

Related topic

• Bird flu
  http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=161

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?...1&id=245302006

Last updated: 16-Feb-06 14:06 GMT

[ukcz]

European bird flu raises fears for 'royal' swans

European bird flu raises fears for 'royal' swans
By Caroline Davies
(Filed: 17/02/2006)

Images of lifeless mute swans being gingerly collected by vets in protective clothing in several European countries this week have evoked great emotion in Britain.

Dead birds from the species have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu in Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Germany.

So far, British birds have been spared the virus, which health experts say could one day trigger a human pandemic. But this week's pictures have raised future fears for the regal swan, beloved for centuries, protected by the Queen and a graceful feature of British wetlands, lakes, rivers and parks.

The risk does not come from the 28,000 resident mute swans, which do not migrate and rarely fly more than a few miles from their home. However, about 10,000 Bewick's swans migrate from Siberia to winter here and 20,000 whooper swans fly from Iceland each year. These could catch and spread the virus.

So far, they have not shown any signs of the disease, according to Peter Cranswick, the head of waterbird monitoring at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. He said that we may have been lucky - this time. But the threat will rear up again with next autumn's migration season.

The migratory Bewick's route last autumn would have taken them through the Baltic area, where H5N1 has been detected and they began arriving in Britain in October. Now they are preparing to fly back. "They are already here. They will go through the Baltic in spring on their way through to Russia. So the traffic is going the wrong way for the virus to be brought here," said Mr Cranswick.

The whoopers have so far presented less of a risk. No cases having been detected along their migratory path from Iceland.

"Having got to this stage of the winter, most of us are breathing a sigh of relief," Mr Cranswick said. "I'm not going to say it isn't going to happen now - that would be tempting fate. But we were nervous in October and November and through December."

There is no evidence that the cases detected in European mute swans were caused by migratory birds at all. Experts believe that they may have been driven south and west in a "cold weather movement" due to severe conditions in the Black Sea region this winter and that they will relocate to their original sites very soon.

David Barber, the Royal Swan Keeper, has been alarmed by the cases detected in Europe. Potentially, the virus could inflict more damage to Britain's swans than anything since the post of Royal Swan Keeper was created in the 13th century. Virtually no swan anywhere in the United Kingdom can be moved or interfered with - let alone culled - without details passing through the Queen's Swan Marker's office, where he works.

Apart from a few traditionally owned on the Thames by the Worshipful Companies of Vintners and Dyers, the Queen has the Royal Prerogative to claim ownership of any mute swan in Britain. However, in reality, she has claimed ownership of only between 1,200 and 1,500 on the Thames.

Mr Barber is "dreading the day" he may have to cull the very birds his life is dedicated to protecting.

"I really hope it doesn't happen because the swan in the UK is classed as a royal bird, and people love swans. They are very proud of their swans," he said. "But I don't think anything can be done about it, because you do not know where a migrating swan or goose, or any bird, is going to land. I don't want to spread doom and gloom, but?"

If the situation arose, he added, he would have to be guided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as, too, would the Royal Parks in London.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/17/nflu17.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/17/ixnewstop.html

[DB]

UK: Vets called after dead swan found

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/c...re/4724266.stm

Vets called after dead swan found


Officials from the State Veterinary Service have been called to a village in Cambridgeshire to examine the body of a dead swan.


The swan's body was found near the village of Great Abington, between Cambridge and Saffron Walden.

At a time of heightened alert over Bird Flu, the police called in specialist help after calls from passers-by.
The swan's body is to be taken to the European Union laboratory at Weybridge in Surrey.

[ukcz]

Re: UK: Vets called after dead swan found

I predict a negative test.

[DB]

Re: UK: Vets called after dead swan found

I predict a positive test.

But then again, they can say whatever they want in the report.

So it might a positive test and a negative report.

[UKMum]

Re: UK: Vets called after dead swan found

Just under 100 miles away from us.....I also predict a positive but the first test will be negative.

[ukcz]

Re: UK: Vets called after dead swan found

LOL. My negative meant the same as you DB and you, UKMum. It's not that we don't trust them, it's just...OK, we don't trust them!

[Bruce]

England Dead swan under examination

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/News/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED17%20Feb%202006%2020%3A21%3A14%3A007

Dead swan under examination
PAUL HILL

17 February 2006 20:19

Laboratory tests will take place this weekend on the body of a dead swan discovered in a Cambridgeshire village amid growing concern about the spread of bird flu in continental Europe.

Passers-by called the police after spotting the dead swan near Great Abington, between Saffron Walden and Cambridge, this morning.

The State Veterinary Service was called in to examine the carcass and take it for testing at the European Union laboratory at Weybridge in Surrey.

Although sources played down the likelihood of the swan being infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, its discovery came as the first case of the virus was confirmed in France.

The French authorities confirmed that a wild duck in Ain, near Lyon, had died of the disease - making France the seventh European Union country to be hit by an outbreak.

Meanwhile, the Danish authorities said that tests on dead swans found in the south of the country had proved negative for the virus.

The UK's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), told the EDP tonight: ?Testing of dead birds is standard practice and part of our general surveillance procedures.

?It's important to remember that the risk of an outbreak of the most serious form of avian flu - H5N1 - in the UK is still low.?

The State Veterinary Service added: ?While we would encourage members of the public to remain vigilant and report incidents of dead wild birds, the discovery of a single carcass does not cause undue concern as wild birds have high natural mortality rate.

?The presence of disease would be more commonly be associated with a large number of [bird] deaths - and we would encourage people to report any sightings of multiple carcasses close to together.?


Anyone who discovers a dead wild bird can contact the Defra helpline 08459 335577.

[Bruce]

Re: UK: Vets called after dead swan found

Dead swan under examination
PAUL HILL

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/News/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED17%20Feb%202006%2020%3A21%3A14%3A007

17 February 2006 20:19

Laboratory tests will take place this weekend on the body of a dead swan discovered in a Cambridgeshire village amid growing concern about the spread of bird flu in continental Europe.

Passers-by called the police after spotting the dead swan near Great Abington, between Saffron Walden and Cambridge, this morning.

The State Veterinary Service was called in to examine the carcass and take it for testing at the European Union laboratory at Weybridge in Surrey.

Although sources played down the likelihood of the swan being infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, its discovery came as the first case of the virus was confirmed in France.

The French authorities confirmed that a wild duck in Ain, near Lyon, had died of the disease - making France the seventh European Union country to be hit by an outbreak.

Meanwhile, the Danish authorities said that tests on dead swans found in the south of the country had proved negative for the virus.

The UK's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), told the EDP tonight: ?Testing of dead birds is standard practice and part of our general surveillance procedures.

?It's important to remember that the risk of an outbreak of the most serious form of avian flu - H5N1 - in the UK is still low.?

The State Veterinary Service added: ?While we would encourage members of the public to remain vigilant and report incidents of dead wild birds, the discovery of a single carcass does not cause undue concern as wild birds have high natural mortality rate.

?The presence of disease would be more commonly be associated with a large number of [bird] deaths - and we would encourage people to report any sightings of multiple carcasses close to together.?


Anyone who discovers a dead wild bird can contact the Defra helpline 08459 335577.

[kondor]

Swans Die UK Bedfordshire

AN UNKNOWN number of swans have been found dead on Bedford's river.
http://www.seriousaboutnews.com/bos/...&storyID=38050

Government officials are investigating their deaths because of fears of bird flu..
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(Defra) has been contacted by Bedford Borough Council after a resident reported seeing 'some dead swans' in the town. The news comes after a dead swan was found in neighbouring Cambridgeshire on Friday and taken to the European Laboratory at Weybridge in Surrey for further tests.

[Clytie]

Re: Bird flu edges closer to UK shores

UK alert as bird flu death confirmed

Wild duck found near Lyons had H5N1 virus

Luke Harding in Berlin and Juliette Jowit in London
Sunday February 19, 2006
Observer
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world...713195,00.html

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 Organisation. Most victims were infected after handling sick birds, but scientists fear H5N1 could mutate and pass between humans.
Guardian Unlimited ? Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006