http://www.guardian.co.uk/birdflu/story/0,,1777205,00.html
Discovery of poultry exposed to bird flu virus was kept from public
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]? Ministry imposed 'routine' movement restrictions
? Curbs lasted until tests on geese ruled out infection[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]James Meikle
Thursday May 18, 2006
The Guardian
[/FONT]Government scientists found evidence of bird flu in poultry in October but did not report their concerns to the public, the Guardian can reveal. The scientists placed movement restrictions on a bird rescue centre in south-west England after finding evidence that 13 free-range geese had been exposed to an H5 virus, one of two types of virus most likely to become deadly to birds and a group known to be a health risk to people.
The restrictions, which lasted at least a week until further tests ruled out any infection, came shortly after the highly dangerous H5N1 strain had been found in imported birds kept in quarantine. No mention was made of the incident by the environment department, Defra, either then or during last month's scares caused by the dead swan at Cellardyke, Fife, which had H5N1, and by the outbreak of H7N3 on three farms in Norfolk.
The incident is referred to in one paragraph in the annual report on animal health by the government's chief veterinary officer, Debby Reynolds. The government insisted that it did not report the incident before because subsequent tests had not confirmed disease. It was "not unexpected" for free-range birds to be exposed to low-pathogenic viruses from wild birds, and they were the only suspect cases found among 5,000 blood samples taken on 438 poultry sites between September and the end of January this year.
Separate surveys involving more than 13,000 samples from live and dead wild birds, including 1,000 swans, between November and April, found only one case of highly pathogenic infection - the Cellardyke swan - and evidence of low pathogenic infection in five other birds, including low pathogen H5 in a teal.
These tests were different from those of poultry in that they detected virological material even though the virus itself could not be isolated in some cases.
Chris Huhne, environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, is demanding more details on the incident after being alerted to the admission by the Guardian. He has tabled a parliamentary question asking if the government believes H5 viruses have been circulating in Britain for some time. "If antibodies show these birds were exposed to H5, how long before would that exposure have taken place? Is there a suggestion they had recovered from infection?"
Peter Ainsworth, bird flu spokesman for the Conservatives, said: "It is surprising the department didn't issue any public statement [that] they were imposing movement restrictions related to a suspected case of avian flu. It must raise questions about the openness of Defra's approach to handling bird flu last autumn."
John Oxford, professor of virology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, found the incident "slightly disquieting" because it suggested the geese had been in contact with wild birds and picked up an H5 sub type from them.
Maria Ball, poultry adviser at the National Farmers' Union, said that if the NFU had been told at the time "we would have been making our own inquiries with regards to other farms in the area".
The incident occurred as Europe went on high alert against H5N1, with the virus spreading into Russia, Turkey and Romania. The NFU advised bird keepers to take their animals indoors.
Dr Reynolds' report says that samples from the unidentified premises tested positive for antibodies to H5N2 and H5N7 strains, prompting movement restrictions and a veterinary inquiry. "The geese were healthy. Further [tests] did not isolate avian influenza viruses ... it is likely the positive antibody result was due to previous exposure to low pathogenic avian [flu] viruses. It is not uncommon to find LPAI viruses in wild birds. These geese had a high level of exposure to wild birds."
A Defra spokesman later told the Guardian: "It was all routine." No birds had been killed, and restrictions had lasted just seven to 10 days.
Discovery of poultry exposed to bird flu virus was kept from public
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]? Ministry imposed 'routine' movement restrictions
? Curbs lasted until tests on geese ruled out infection[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]James Meikle
Thursday May 18, 2006
The Guardian
[/FONT]Government scientists found evidence of bird flu in poultry in October but did not report their concerns to the public, the Guardian can reveal. The scientists placed movement restrictions on a bird rescue centre in south-west England after finding evidence that 13 free-range geese had been exposed to an H5 virus, one of two types of virus most likely to become deadly to birds and a group known to be a health risk to people.
The restrictions, which lasted at least a week until further tests ruled out any infection, came shortly after the highly dangerous H5N1 strain had been found in imported birds kept in quarantine. No mention was made of the incident by the environment department, Defra, either then or during last month's scares caused by the dead swan at Cellardyke, Fife, which had H5N1, and by the outbreak of H7N3 on three farms in Norfolk.
The incident is referred to in one paragraph in the annual report on animal health by the government's chief veterinary officer, Debby Reynolds. The government insisted that it did not report the incident before because subsequent tests had not confirmed disease. It was "not unexpected" for free-range birds to be exposed to low-pathogenic viruses from wild birds, and they were the only suspect cases found among 5,000 blood samples taken on 438 poultry sites between September and the end of January this year.
Separate surveys involving more than 13,000 samples from live and dead wild birds, including 1,000 swans, between November and April, found only one case of highly pathogenic infection - the Cellardyke swan - and evidence of low pathogenic infection in five other birds, including low pathogen H5 in a teal.
These tests were different from those of poultry in that they detected virological material even though the virus itself could not be isolated in some cases.
Chris Huhne, environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, is demanding more details on the incident after being alerted to the admission by the Guardian. He has tabled a parliamentary question asking if the government believes H5 viruses have been circulating in Britain for some time. "If antibodies show these birds were exposed to H5, how long before would that exposure have taken place? Is there a suggestion they had recovered from infection?"
Peter Ainsworth, bird flu spokesman for the Conservatives, said: "It is surprising the department didn't issue any public statement [that] they were imposing movement restrictions related to a suspected case of avian flu. It must raise questions about the openness of Defra's approach to handling bird flu last autumn."
John Oxford, professor of virology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, found the incident "slightly disquieting" because it suggested the geese had been in contact with wild birds and picked up an H5 sub type from them.
Maria Ball, poultry adviser at the National Farmers' Union, said that if the NFU had been told at the time "we would have been making our own inquiries with regards to other farms in the area".
The incident occurred as Europe went on high alert against H5N1, with the virus spreading into Russia, Turkey and Romania. The NFU advised bird keepers to take their animals indoors.
Dr Reynolds' report says that samples from the unidentified premises tested positive for antibodies to H5N2 and H5N7 strains, prompting movement restrictions and a veterinary inquiry. "The geese were healthy. Further [tests] did not isolate avian influenza viruses ... it is likely the positive antibody result was due to previous exposure to low pathogenic avian [flu] viruses. It is not uncommon to find LPAI viruses in wild birds. These geese had a high level of exposure to wild birds."
A Defra spokesman later told the Guardian: "It was all routine." No birds had been killed, and restrictions had lasted just seven to 10 days.
