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UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

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hawkeye

New member
Second person tested for bird flu

A second worker involved in dealing with the bird flu outbreak on a farm in Suffolk is being tested for the disease, health experts have announced.

The Health Protection Agency said it would be known on Thursday if they were infected with the H5N1 virus.

A vet who became ill has already tested negative for bird flu and seasonal flu.

The HPA said other workers may develop similar symptoms as it was the season for respiratory infections, but that it did not expect anyone to have H5N1.

The worker, who has displayed symptoms of a respiratory illness, is to be tested in hospital.

Dr Jonathan van Tam, a flu expert at the HPA, said: "We are not expecting any workers to test postiive for avian flu as they have followed all the necessary precautions in terms of protective clothing, hygiene measures and have been offered antiviral drugs.

"We are however expecting to see a number of workers with symptoms caused by other non-flu respiratory viruses over the coming week as this is the time of year when we see an increase in these infections."

The HPA again stressed that H5N1 was predominantly a disease which affected birds and which does not transmit easily to humans.

There has been no evidence so far that the virus can pass easily from human to human.
 
Last edited:
Re: UK: Second person tested for bird flu

Re: UK: Second person tested for bird flu

Second worker tested for bird flu
07 February 2007 | 16:20
A second worker was today being tested for possible bird flu after working at the Bernard Matthews' plant in Suffolk, it was reported today.
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

2nd worker involved with British bird flu outbreak being tested for H5N1 virus

The Associated Press
Published: February 7, 2007

LONDON: A second worker involved with a bird flu outbreak at a British farm is being tested for the deadly H5N1 strain, health authorities said Wednesday.

The tests were a precaution, the Health Protection Agency said, adding that it did not expect the worker to test positive. Earlier Wednesday, bird flu was ruled out as the cause of illness in a veterinarian who was hospitalized after responding to the outbreak at a commercial poultry farm in eastern England.

"We are not expecting any workers to test positive for avian flu as they have followed all the necessary precautions in terms of protective clothing, hygiene measures and have been offered anti-viral drugs," said Dr. Jonathan Van Tam, a flu expert at the agency.

"We are, however, expecting to see a number of workers with symptoms caused by other non-flu respiratory viruses over the coming week as this is the time of year when we see an increase in these infections. We will asses these cases as they occur and expect to be carrying out more testing through the course of this week."

The veterinarian, who was not identified by name, was among State Veterinary Service workers sent to the farm where 159,000 turkeys were slaughtered after the outbreak.

On Tuesday, he was hospitalized for a chest infection, but "tests for avian flu and normal seasonal flu were negative," the health agency said. "This patient will now be treated under normal clinical care."

Officials have said the outbreak posed a "negligible" risk to the public or poultry industry. Several countries, however, have banned British poultry imports.

The farm in Holton, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of London, is owned by Bernard Matthews PLC, Europe's biggest turkey producer.

Bird flu has killed or prompted the culling of millions of birds worldwide since late 2003, when it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks. It has killed at least 165 people worldwide, but remains difficult for humans to catch.

Experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a global pandemic. So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with sick birds.

British government scientists have yet to identify the source of the recent outbreak.
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

Second person tested for bird flu
A second worker involved in dealing with the bird flu outbreak on a farm in Suffolk, is being tested for the disease, health experts have announced.

The Health Protection Agency said it would be known on Thursday if they were infected with the H5N1 virus.
A vet who became ill has already tested negative for bird flu and seasonal flu.
The HPA said other workers may develop similar symptoms, as it was the season for respiratory infections, but that it did not expect anyone to have H5N1.

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=fact><!--Smva-->We are not expecting any workers to test positive for avian flu
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->Dr Jonathan van Tam, HPA <!--Emva--></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

The BBC's medical correspondent Fergus Walsh said it was understood the worker being tested was a Portuguese farm worker who had developed a cough and a fever who was being tested in hospital.
But he added it was believed there was no more reason to be concerned in this case than in that of the vet.
'Time of year'
In a statement, Dr Jonathan van Tam, a flu expert at the HPA, said: "We are not expecting any workers to test positive for avian flu as they have followed all the necessary precautions in terms of protective clothing, hygiene measures and have been offered antiviral drugs.

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=fact><!--So--><!--Eo--><!--Smiiib--><!--Smva-->
<!--Emva--><!--So-->
<!--Eo--><!--Smiiib--></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"We are however expecting to see a number of workers with symptoms caused by other non-flu respiratory viruses over the coming week as this is the time of year when we see an increase in these infections."
The HPA again stressed that H5N1 was predominantly a disease which affected birds and which does not transmit easily to humans.
There has been no evidence so far that the virus can pass easily from human to human.
So far, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has infected over 270 people across the world, mainly in South East Asia, and has killed over 160.
However, experts fear the virus could mutate at some point in the future and trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk.


Poultry restrictions
Following the discovery of the virus on the Bernard Matthews poultry farm in Holton, almost 160,000 turkeys were killed.
A 3km (1.9 mile) protection zone and a 10km (6.2 mile) surveillance zone are in place around the Holton farm.
Poultry owners in a wider restricted zone, covering 2,090 sq km (807 sq miles) around Holton, have been told to keep their flocks isolated from wild birds.

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD><!--So--><!--Eo--><!--Smva-->Scene of outbreak
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->All poultry to be culled
Visitors disinfected and restricted access
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->3km Protection Zone
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->Poultry kept indoors and tested
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->10km Surveillance Zone
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->No movement of poultry to or from area except for slaughter
Trains carrying live poultry are prevented from stopping in the protection zone
Bird fairs and markets banned
Increased surveillance of wetland areas
Domestic birds not to share water used by wild birds
Footpath restrictions likely only on free-range farms
People in towns not affected unless they keep poultry.
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->Restriction Zone
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->Isolation of poultry from wild birds
Poultry movements to be licensed
<!--Emva--><!--Smva-->Source: Defra <!--Emva--></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>







Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6339759.stm
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

Second worker checked for bird flu
07/02/07

Health experts monitoring an outbreak of bird flu are checking whether a farm worker has contracted the disease.

The Health Protection Agency said the worker had been employed at the Bernard Matthews poultry unit in Holton, Suffolk, where bird flu was confirmed on Thursday.

Officials said the worker was undergoing hospital tests for the H5N1 virus.

It is the second time in two days that doctors have carried out tests on people working at the farm.

Earlier on Wednesday the HPA said a vet had tested negative for the virus after complaining of a mild respiratory illness.

HBA officials said the tests were a precaution, with a spokesman adding experts do not expect anyone working at the farm to contract the virus.

But he said it was likely that a number of people would report respiratory problems in the coming weeks and would have to be tested to ensure that they had not picked up the bug.

Experts are continuing to clean and disinfect the huts where the infected turkeys were housed.

Nearly 160,000 turkeys at the farm were culled as a precaution following the outbreak.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials said they expected the disinfecting operation to be completed on Thursday.
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

I thought he was a poultry worker?

Second UK vet tested for bird flu
POSTED: 1:26 p.m. EST, February 7, 2007

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Health Protection Agency Wednesday is testing a second veterinarian service worker who responded to a recent avian flu outbreak on a English poultry farm for the deadly strain of the bird flu virus.

The agency believes the patient may simply be suffering from the annual flu season, but is taking no chances.

"We are not expecting any workers to test positive for avian flu as they have followed all the necessary precautions in terms of protective clothing, hygiene measures and have been offered antiviral drugs," flu expert Dr. Jonathan Van Tam said in a statement released by the agency. (Read how Britain is taking measures to contain bird-flu outbreak)

"We are, however, expecting to see a number of workers with symptoms caused by other non-flu respiratory viruses over the coming week as this is the time of year when we see an increase in these infections."

Lab results from the latest test are expected to be released on Thursday, HPA said.

The patient works for Britain's State Veterinary Service, part of the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Earlier in the day, the agency determined that another worker for Britain's state veterinary agency did not have the virus.

The worker had been hospitalized for a "mild respiratory illness" after working on the weekend outbreak at the poultry farm in Holton, Suffolk, about 120 miles northeast of London.

Safety precautions taken by workers leave a low risk for being exposed to the H5N1 virus found on the farm, according to Dr. John Watson, the chief of respiratory illnesses for HPA.

"It should be remembered that chest infections and fevers are common in Europe at this time of year when ordinary seasonal flu circulates," he said Tuesday.

British officials announced Saturday that the H5N1 virus was behind the deaths of 2,500 turkeys on the farm. The remainder of the 160,000 birds were being culled to prevent the further spread of the disease, and veterinary officials were enforcing a "protection zone" around the farm.

Officials from the U.N.'s World Health Organization have confirmed 271 human cases of bird flu worldwide, with 165 of them fatal. Most of the deaths have been in southeast Asia, though the latest fatality was a 22-year-old woman in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

Though WHO officials fear that the H5N1 virus could mutate and be spread from human to human, most people who have contracted avian flu got it by handling diseased or dead birds.

-- CNN's Daniela Berretta contributed to this report
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

Second man tested for bird flu virus



07 February 2007 18:30

A second worker was being tested for bird flu tonight in the wake of an outbreak on a Bernard Matthews farm.

The man, who was involved in dealing with the infection that killed 2,500 turkeys in Holton, near Halesworth, was being treated in hospital. He is believed to be a Portuguese farm worker who has developed a cough and a fever.

He is the second man to be tested, after vet Gordon Young complained of a ?mild respiratory illness?. Doctors said that he was not suffering from bird flu or normal seasonal flu. Today the vet was still being treated by doctors after being taken into hospital in Nottingham on Tuesday for ?preliminary and precautionary? tests.

The Health Protection Agency, the government agency in charge of public health, was carrying out testing on the second worker last night. The agency would not give any details about the man or his treatment, citing ?patient confidentiality?. Results are expected tomorrow.

Jonathan Van Tam, a flu expert at the Health Protection Agency, said: ?We are not expecting any workers to test positive for avian flu as they have followed all the necessary precautions in terms of protective clothing, hygiene measures and have been offered antiviral drugs. We are, however, expecting to see a number of workers with symptoms caused by other non-flu respiratory viruses over the coming week, as this is the time of year when we see an increase in these infections. We will asses these cases as they occur and expect to be carrying out more testing through the course of this week.?

Dr Young, who is in his 50s, was on secondment to the Bury St Edmunds office of the State Veterinary Service to help deal with the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5Nl strain of bird flu. He was working with the culling teams on Sunday and Monday, taking swabs from the throats of the turkeys after they had been gassed. He is understood to have fallen ill after returning to normal duty in Nottingham on Tuesday.

During an interview with Sky News on Sunday, he said that biosecurity had been very good and that he had not felt at any risk. Those dealing with the birds were issued with double gloves, breathing filters and face masks as well as protective clothing.

Cleaning and disinfecting was under way at the vast Bernard Matthews farm yesterday, and may finish as early as today. In the surrounding area, things began to return to normal. Unions representing workers said they were optimistic about the job security and health of their workers.

Ivan Mercer, organiser at the GMB union, which represents some of the Bernard Matthews staff and the Portuguese workers in particular, said: ?Obviously there is concern about their welfare and health issues, but as far as I have been told Bernard Matthews are following all the precautions and everything is above board. No-one has come to us with any worries that health issues are not being taken seriously.

?Employees are on medication which is a 10-day course of an anti-flu pill. At the end of the 10 days they have a medical and they can have an anti flu jab.

?The information we have got so far is that no-one is going to lose their jobs.?

Jo?n Gomes, 21, who lives in Yarmouth and works at the factory, said he had been told not to go into work yesterday but would be going in today.

He said he was ?not scared? of getting ill, adding: ?I think I will keep my job.?
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

Worker in Britain Tested for Bird Flu
Associated Press 02.07.07, 2:43 PM ET

A second worker involved with a bird flu outbreak at a British farm is being tested for the deadly H5N1 strain, health authorities said Wednesday.
The tests were a precaution, the Health Protection Agency said, adding that it did not expect the worker to test positive. Earlier Wednesday, bird flu was ruled out as the cause of illness in a veterinarian who was hospitalized after responding to the outbreak at a commercial poultry farm in eastern England.
"We are not expecting any workers to test positive for avian flu as they have followed all the necessary precautions in terms of protective clothing, hygiene measures and have been offered anti-viral drugs," said Dr. Jonathan Van Tam, a flu expert at the agency.
"We are, however, expecting to see a number of workers with symptoms caused by other non-flu respiratory viruses over the coming week as this is the time of year when we see an increase in these infections. We will asses these cases as they occur and expect to be carrying out more testing through the course of this week."
Officials did not identify the person being tested Wednesday, but Portugal's Lusa news agency said she was a female Portuguese worker at the farm. Many Portuguese workers are employed in Britain's agriculture sector.
The veterinarian, who was not identified by name, was among State Veterinary Service workers sent to the farm where 159,000 turkeys were slaughtered after the outbreak.
On Tuesday, he was hospitalized for a chest infection, but "tests for avian flu and normal seasonal flu were negative," the health agency said. "This patient will now be treated under normal clinical care."
Officials have said the outbreak posed a "negligible" risk to the public or poultry industry. Several countries, however, have banned British poultry imports.
The farm in Holton, about 130 miles northeast of London, is owned by Bernard Matthews PLC, Europe's biggest turkey producer.
Bird flu has killed or prompted the culling of millions of birds worldwide since late 2003, when it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks. It has killed at least 165 people worldwide, but remains difficult for humans to catch.
Experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a global pandemic. So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with sick birds.
British government scientists have yet to identify the source of the recent outbreak.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/07/ap3404869.html
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu - negaitve

Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu - negaitve

Farmworker tests negative for H5N1

A farmworker has tested negative for the H5N1 bird flu virus after complaining of respiratory symptoms, Government health officials said.

The worker underwent checks at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, overnight, after complaining of feeling ill.

The Health Protection Agency said the worker had been at the Bernard Matthews Farm in Holton, Suffolk, where bird flu was confirmed on Friday.

But an HPA spokesman said on Thursday that tests on the worker had proved negative.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2193019.html?menu=news.topheadlines
 
UK: Third Worker tested for bird flu

UK: Third Worker tested for bird flu

Third worker tested for bird flu
08 February 2007 | 14:24
<TABLE class=linenew cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> </TD><TD>
​
</TD><TD>
​
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
MARK BULSTRODE
<TABLE class=fImgTab cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=100 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
20070208143516.jpg
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=text>The Bernard Matthews factory at Holton </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A THIRD worker has been tested for bird flu, it emerged this afternoon.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) the latest person also had symptoms that could indicate the possibility of avian influenza and which required further investigation.

This takes the tally of testing negative for avian flu to three.

Dr Jonathan Van Tam, a flu expert at the Agency said: ?The risk of any workers testing positive for avian flu is very low as they have followed all the necessary precautions in terms of protective clothing, hygiene measures and have been offered antiviral drugs. We are however expecting to see a number of workers with symptoms caused by other respiratory viruses over the coming week as this is the time of year when we see an increase in these infections. We will asses these cases as they occur and expect to be carrying out more testing through the course of this week.

?It is important to remember that H5N1avian flu remains largely a disease of birds. The virus does not transmit easily to humans, as evidenced by the 270 or so confirmed infections worldwide to date, versus the millions of people exposed to poultry everyday in SE Asia.

?Almost all human H5N1 infections so far have been associated with close contact with dead or dying poultry and in all human cases there has been no evidence of efficient human to human transmission."

For more on this story, see tomorrow's EADT.

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/cgi/NGoto/186881708?-13907
 
Third person cleared of bird flu

Third person cleared of bird flu

Third person cleared of bird flu

Workers wearing protective clothing during the turkey cull
A third worker involved in dealing with the bird flu outbreak on a farm in Suffolk has tested negative for the disease, health experts have announced.
The worker, who was tested after feeling ill, had been at the Bernard Matthews Farm in Holton where the H5N1 virus was confirmed on Friday.

It comes after a vet and another worker had already tested negative.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6341389.stm
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

A couple of points:

1) Why don't they test every worker? Then they can announce there were X workers and we have tested all of them.

This slow news announcments about workers coming in with respiratory problems from the farm and then being tested really isn't helping the situation.

2) How long does it take for antibodies to build up so that if someone was infected the test would return positive?
 
Re: UK: Second Worker tested for bird flu

Jeremy said:
A couple of points:

1) Why don't they test every worker? Then they can announce there were X workers and we have tested all of them.

This slow news announcments about workers coming in with respiratory problems from the farm and then being tested really isn't helping the situation.

2) How long does it take for antibodies to build up so that if someone was infected the test would return positive?
Click to expand...
Antibody levels peak 3-4 weeks after symptoms.
 
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