Wild Swans in Britain Found Dead of Bird Flu

LONDON, UK, January 10, 2008 (ENS) - British environment officials today confirmed avian influenza in three dead wild mute swans in the Chesil Beach area in Dorset, following positive test results from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the virus.

The three dead birds were found at a bird sanctuary known as the Abbotsbury Swannery and tested following routine surveillance conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Defra.

Acting Chief Veterinary Officer Fred Landeg said, "While this is obviously unwelcome news, we have always said that Britain is at a constant low level of risk of introduction of avian influenza."

"Our message to all bird keepers, particularly those in the area, is that they must be vigilant, report any signs of disease immediately, and practice the highest levels of biosecurity," he said, adding that a full epidemiological investigation is underway.

A wild bird control area and a monitoring area are being established around the premises, encompassing Chesil Beach and Portland Bill, and the shape of these is based on expert ornithological advice, Landeg said.

Inside these areas, bird keepers are required to house their birds or otherwise isolate them from contact with wild birds, bird movements will be restricted, and bird gatherings are banned.

No disease has been found in domestic birds, and surveillance of the local wild bird population is underway. There will be no culling of wild birds because such action may disperse birds further and would not aid control, Landeg said.

All poultry keepers on the Great Britain Poultry Register are being notified, and the European Commission has been informed.

Defra is also working closely with ornithological and other experts to consider what wider measures may be needed.

The Abbotsbury Swannery where the infected swans were found is part of the Chesil Bank and the Fleet Nature Reserve, an informal reserve managed by a warden appointed by the Ilchester Estates. The reserve lies within a European Marine Site, a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation.

The Chesil Beach forms part of the Dorset and East Devon UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Jurassic Coast.

There have been no positive cases of the H5N1 virus in wild birds in the European Union since mid-August 2007.

The European Commission said today that during recent outbreaks in poultry, including one in East Anglia last November, epidemiological investigations suggested that wild birds could be the origin of virus spread into farms.

"There are many aspects of avian influenza H5N1 that are still unknown, and the role of wild birds in the spread of the disease spread is not entirely clear," the Commission said in a statement.

Surveillance programs for avian influenza are carried out in wild birds and on poultry holdings throughout the European Union. The Commission says control measures are in place to prevent the spread of infection to poultry and to rapidly control the disease when outbreaks occur. These measures have proven effective during the outbreaks that occurred in several Member States in 2006 and 2007.

Avian influenza is a disease of birds, Defra says. While it can pass very rarely and with difficulty to humans, this usually requires extremely close contact with infected birds, particularly feces. Advice from the Food Standards Agency remains that properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.