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Ulster tourist was tested for deadly bird flu
Thursday, March 08, 2007
By Mark Hookham
A holidaymaker was tested in Northern Ireland for avian flu in the past 12 months, it has emerged.
According to new statistics from the Department of Health here, tests were carried out in December on a patient "recently returned from holiday in south-east Asia who had symptoms similar to those associated with avian flu."
The tests were negative.
In addition more than 2,000 birds have been tested in Northern Ireland for avian flu in the past 12 months, the Government has said.
Scientists have carried out on average 178 tests each month on wild birds and poultry across the province as part of a huge effort to prevent a bird flu outbreak.
All the tests were negative.
The figures released in Parliament reveal the scale of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's (DARD) campaign to keep the country free of bird flu.
In total, 2,141 birds were tested between March 2006 and February this year.
DARD scientists have been concentrating their surveillance on gulls, waders, ducks and geese.
They have been taking samples from live and dead birds in a bid provide an 'early warning' that wildfowl are carrying the H5N1 virus.
Separate random tests took place between October and December as part of a survey of poultry farms across Northern Ireland.
A DARD spokesperson said: "The total number of tests carried out includes poultry tested under the domestic poultry survey (October to December), wild birds tested under wild bird surveillance and diagnostic tests on dead poultry.
"The number of tests was increased between October and December by the domestic poultry survey."
A DHSSP spokesperson said: "Tests for avian flu were carried out in December on a patient recently returned from holiday in south-east Asia who had symptoms similar to those associated with avian flu.
"The tests were negative."
The figures follow a recent outbreak of bird-flu in the UK.
Nearly 160,000 turkeys were culled at the Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk after bird flu was discovered there on February 3.
A 3km exclusion zone was put in place in a bid to prevent the disease from spreading farther in Britain.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
By Mark Hookham
A holidaymaker was tested in Northern Ireland for avian flu in the past 12 months, it has emerged.
According to new statistics from the Department of Health here, tests were carried out in December on a patient "recently returned from holiday in south-east Asia who had symptoms similar to those associated with avian flu."
The tests were negative.
In addition more than 2,000 birds have been tested in Northern Ireland for avian flu in the past 12 months, the Government has said.
Scientists have carried out on average 178 tests each month on wild birds and poultry across the province as part of a huge effort to prevent a bird flu outbreak.
All the tests were negative.
The figures released in Parliament reveal the scale of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's (DARD) campaign to keep the country free of bird flu.
In total, 2,141 birds were tested between March 2006 and February this year.
DARD scientists have been concentrating their surveillance on gulls, waders, ducks and geese.
They have been taking samples from live and dead birds in a bid provide an 'early warning' that wildfowl are carrying the H5N1 virus.
Separate random tests took place between October and December as part of a survey of poultry farms across Northern Ireland.
A DARD spokesperson said: "The total number of tests carried out includes poultry tested under the domestic poultry survey (October to December), wild birds tested under wild bird surveillance and diagnostic tests on dead poultry.
"The number of tests was increased between October and December by the domestic poultry survey."
A DHSSP spokesperson said: "Tests for avian flu were carried out in December on a patient recently returned from holiday in south-east Asia who had symptoms similar to those associated with avian flu.
"The tests were negative."
The figures follow a recent outbreak of bird-flu in the UK.
Nearly 160,000 turkeys were culled at the Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk after bird flu was discovered there on February 3.
A 3km exclusion zone was put in place in a bid to prevent the disease from spreading farther in Britain.