Bird Flu fearmongering

http://www.whale.to/b/birdflu_mail.html

"john" wrote in message
...
http://www.whale.to/b/birdflu_mail.html



Text better for cut and paste purposes.

Carole
http://www.conspiracee.com
* * *

Bird flu kills British swan
Emergency exclusion zone imposed ...local farmers ordered to bring poultry
indoors
By Fiona MacRae and Stuart Nicolson

AN outbreak of bird flu was last night confirmed in Britain.
A wild swan has died of the disease which has been sweeping across the
globe, officials said.
The swan had a virus from the same family as the H5N1 strain that has killed
more than 100 people and millions of birds worldwide.
Tests show the H5 bug found in the swan is extremely infectious and deadly
to poultry - and experts believe it is "highly likely" it is the feared
H5N1.
Leading vet Dr Bob McCracken said: "H5N1 is very common throughout the world
at the moment."
The swan was found in the Cellardyke area of Anatruther, Fife, in the
south-east of Scotland. It is unclear if the swan was a native bird or had
migrated here. However, it is likely the virus was brought into the country
by migratory birds.
A spokesman from the Scottish Executive said: "Preliminary tests have found
a highly pathogenic H5 avian flu in a swan which died in Fife."
The spokesman added it was impossible to tell at this stage whether the bird
had died from H5NA. Test results which will confirm whether it is the H5N1
strain are due today.
Confirmation would send shockwaves through Britain's 3 billion pound- a year
poultry industry. If the bug was to spread to domestic birds it could lead
to widespread culls and the collapse of the poultry and egg markets.
In an attempt to prevent the spread to farmed birds, officials have put a
two-mile "protection zone" around the area where the swan was found and a
six mile "surveillance zone".
Poultry keepers within the protection zone have been told to keep their
birds indoors to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
The movement of poultry, eggs and poultry products out of both zones has
been restricted.
If the disease is confirmed as H5N1 more severe restrictions may will be
brought in, such as housing and movement controls.
Birds that are diseased, suspected of being diseased or which have been
exposed to infection would be slaughtered. Eggs would also be destroyed.
The Scottish Executive said in a statement: "There is no reason for public
health concern.
"Avian influenza is a disease of birds and while it can pass very rarely and
with difficulty to humans, this requires extremely close contact with
infected birds, particularly faeces."
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, in whose constituency the bird
was found, said he would follow the situation "very closely".
He said he had been assured by agriculture minister Ben Bradshaw "that all
necessary steps will be taken and that there is no health risk to humans".
Britain's chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds said: "We are already in a
high state of readiness and I have every confidence that officials north and
south of the border will work together to manage this incident
successfully."
Bird flu was discovered in Britain in parrots and finches last October.
However, because the outbreak was confined to birds kept in quarantine, the
country has until now been classed as disease-free.
Earlier, experts had warned that cats may help bird flu mutate into a form
that spreads easily among humans.
they said the role the animals play in spreading bird flu should be examined
when governments draw up guidelines to prevent a global pandemic.
Virtually all bird flu cases so far detected in EU countries have been in
wild species - and extensive precautions are in place to stop it spreading
to commercial flocks.
But cats are so adept at catching wild birds that they could play an
important role in helping the virus spread, according to Dr Albert Osterhaus
from Erasmus University in the Netherlands.
Writing in the journal Nature, Dr Osterhaus and Peter Roeder, of the UN's
Food and Agriculture Organisation, said it is still not clear how easily
cats pick up the virus, how long they may excrete it for, or if they can
pass it on to other animals including humans.
"In the absence of these data, it is difficult to assess the overall risk
posed for infected cats," they warned.
"Cats may provide the virus with an opportunity to adapt to efficient
transmission within and among mammalian species including humans, thereby
increasing the risk of a human influenza pandemic."
They recommended that in areas where avian flu is widespread, cats should
not be in contact with birds or their droppings. Domestic pets may need to
be kept indoors and if they show signs of illness, they should be tested for
H5N1.
Studies at Erasmus University have shown that cats can be infected through
the respiratory tract, although the more likely route is by eating infected
birds.
The warning came as it emerged the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been
identified on a poultry farm in Germany - only the second confirmed case in
domestic birds in the EU.

http://www.vaccination.org.uk/b/bird_flu_fear.html