Eek! Bird flu 2!

Avian flu found in parrot in UK

A parrot that died in quarantine in the UK has tested positive for avian flu, the government has said.
A highly pathogenic H5 strain of the disease has been found, but it is not known if it is the H5N1 variant which has killed at least 60 people in Asia.

Because the bird - imported from south America - was in quarantine, the UK's disease-free status is not affected.

Meanwhile, poultry imports from Croatia are being banned by the EU after the virus was found in six swans there.

Disease-free status

So far bird flu - in some cases the H5N1 strain - has been found in Europe in Romania, Greece and most recently, Croatia, as well as in a nearby area of Turkey.

It is thought it was carried to those countries by wild birds migrating from Asia.

The parrot - which was being held in a bio-secure unit at an undisclosed location - is the first confirmed case of avian flu in Britain since 1992.

UK chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds said: "The confirmed case does not affect the UK's official disease free status because the disease has been identified in imported birds during quarantine."

The bird was part of a mixed consignment of 148 parrots and "soft bills" that arrived on 16 September. They were also in quarantine with a consignment of 216 birds from Taiwan.

We have had similar incidents in the past where disease has been discovered but successfully contained as a result of our quarantine arrangements

Debby Reynolds, chief veterinary officer

All the birds in the quarantine unit are now being culled, said the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and those who had come into contact with them are being given antiviral treatment as a precautionary measure.

Ms Reynolds said the incident had shown the importance of the UK's quarantine system.

"We have had similar incidents in the past where disease has been discovered but successfully contained as a result of our quarantine arrangements," she said.

Europe-wide action

It comes as Croatia confirmed positive results for the H5 type of avian flu on Friday, after twelve swans were found dead near a pond in the village of Zdenci, eastern Croatia.

It is not yet clear whether the remaining six have been tested for the virus.

In a statement the EU executive said the Commission was preparing a decision "to ban the import of live poultry and poultry products from Croatia which will be adopted by urgent procedure on Monday".

The Croatian government has assured the Commission it would not dispatch any poultry to the EU.

A new case of bird flu was also detected in Romania on Friday.

The H5 bird flu virus was found in a heron near the border with Moldova - the H5N1 strain has already been found in two locations in Romania's Danube delta.

Across Europe, many countries are taking steps to counter the spread of the virus, although scientists say the disease does not appear to be able to spread between humans.

The Swiss government, following similar action in Austria and Germany, has ordered poultry farmers to keep all their birds indoors. The ban on free-range farming will last until the middle of December.

European Union health ministers have been holding a second day of meetings to discuss their response to the disease.