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MORE ON AVIAN ’FLU
As I have said in my previous comments on this disease, we are dealing with a very fluid and rapidly changing situation, and any printed material is quickly out of date. It is therefore best to visit the DEFRA website at www.defra.gov.uk for the very latest information and legislation.
However, there are a few more general comments in the light of the recent news of cases occurring in birds in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Germany, and most recently in France. It is obvious that the virulent H5N1 strain of avian influenza is creeping inexorably westwards, and that it may reach the UK. This news has rekindled the flames fanned by the media at the end of last year, when birdkeepers were panicked about the situation pertaining to their birds.
We must ask the following questions:
Apart from a handful of people in Turkey, who were living in remote villages in close proximity to their chickens (as is the situation in the Far East), how many human cases of H5N1 ‘flu have been associated with the latest cases in western Europe? The answer is NONE.
How many hundreds or thousands of poultry have been infected from these migratory waterfowl involved in the latest cases? Again the answer is NONE.
How many parrots or parakeets have acquired infection from any of the European cases? Once again – NONE.
Each of the western European countries is closely monitoring the situation and has contingency plans in place to deal with any outbreaks. Thus France has introduced ring vaccination of susceptible poultry around the positive wild duck near Lyons. The same would apply if such a case occurred in the UK. Avian vaccines have been licensed, but will not be released for general use until the need arises. There are two important reasons for this: firstly the virus mutates so quickly, that a vaccine given now may give no protection in six months time; and secondly that vaccinated birds could possibly carry the disease without showing any signs themselves, thus hindering detection of outbreaks.
Each of the cases that has been identified in Europe has been in sporadic single wildfowl – no other species to date have been implicated. Certainly we must be vigilant for deaths occurring in wild swans, ducks and geese, and these should be reported to DEFRA via their hotline – 08459 335577 – but as I have said before, most migrating wildfowl that were coming to the UK for the winter have already arrived.
All one needs to do for the present is to monitor closely the situation, by watching for informed, accurate details on the DEFRA website, and not taking notice of inflammatory press scare stories. Keep your birds indoors where appropriate, or ensure that outdoor birds’ food and water supplies are under cover, away from wild bird access. If you do live near ponds and lakes where wildfowl congregate, then be extra vigilant, and report any suspicious deaths as soon as possible.
Alan K Jones
Feb 2006.