H5N1 Source of U.K. Bird Flu: Experts

The most recent outbreak of bird flu in the UK has been declared a lethal strain. With experts confirming the source of the bird flu outbreak to be H5N1, a virulent strain, thousands of birds are being slaughtered at the site where officials came across the outbreak. Officials first detected the outbreak in Suffolk, about 100 miles northeast of London, on a turkey farm.

Redgrave Park, the site of the most recent bird flu outbreak is located near some wetlands. It is a free-range park that is home to wild birds, including ducks and geese. Vets from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the farm agency of Britain, are keeping close watch on all the birds in the park, and also at least another 3 million on poultry farms in a 10-km radius.

Initial investigations by Defra officials have revealed the possibility that the H5N1 strain probably came across the North Sea, carried by migratory birds. Officials are examining this premise based on the close relationship the strain exhibits with a similar strain that caused a bird flu outbreak in August in Bavaria, Germany.

However, Defra officials have not yet zeroed in on this as the sole means by which the strain got into Britain. It is also examining the possibility the strain came possibly with turkey feed being imported by humans.

The latest outbreak in Britain indicated the H5Nq strain was slowly moving away from its original hotbed of Southeast Asia and making its way slowly and steadily to the west, said Hugh Pennington, a microbiologist at the University of Aberdeen.

Pennington said while the virus had been around in that geography for a while. He said the more time went by without the virus mutating, the more the chances of it not mutating into a pandemic. Currently, while humans are not easily susceptible to the H5N1 virus, the worst fears scientists have is it could possibly mutate into a strain that affects humans equally.

The current outbreak of bird flu is the second one in Britain in recent times. The first instance was in February, and had resulted in the slaughter of almost 160,000 birds farmed at factories.

What is worrying farmers is the timing of the current outbreak. With Christmas so close at hand, farmers are worried the virus outbreak may have a direct impact on the turkey business during Christmas. A report in The Guardian said farmers were hoping to sell approximately 20 million birds during Christmas, and the outbreak could be a real dampener.

This is not the first or only virus outbreak to hit Britain in recent times. During the past year, British farms have been hit hard by two other viral ailments – foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue disease. The February bird flu outbreak has already resulted in farms losing approximately $19 million in a matter of 12 weeks.