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BMJ 2007;334:342-343 (17 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39126.577488.59
ObservationsTHE WEEK IN MEDICINE
Hunting down the H5N1 virus
Rebecca Coombes, journalist
London
The avian influenza outbreak in Suffolk has cast an uneasy light<sup> </sup>on the public health risks of modern poultry production practices
Although the infected processing plant reopened last week, government<sup> </sup>investigators are still trying to root out the cause of H5N1<sup> </sup>virus outbreak in Suffolk, which led to the culling of 160 000<sup> </sup>birds earlier this month.<sup> </sup>
Initially, the finger of blame had pointed to the infected droppings<sup> </sup>of migrating wild birds. There had been an outbreak of H5N1<sup> </sup>among captive geese in the Csongr?d region of Hungary<sup> </sup>in January, but there was no obvious link to the outbreak at<sup> </sup>the Holton farm, which is owned by UK poultry tycoon Bernard<sup> </sup>Matthews.<sup> </sup>
By the eighth day of the outbreak, genetic tests confirmed that<sup> </sup>the Suffolk virus was the same pathogenic Asian strain found<sup> </sup>in Hungary. That in itself didn't prove that there was a direct<sup> </sup>link; the infection still may have come from a third country.<sup> </sup>But it had also become clear that Matthews not only had a processing<sup> </sup>plant in <nobr>. . .</nobr> [Full text of this article]
Is H5N1 in the human food chain?
Media reaction
What next?