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A dead swan found in Cellardyke, Scotland has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu. Fourteen other suspect birds are being tested for the virus by DEFRA’s Veterinary Laboratories Agency.
Dr Kathleen Bamford, Reader and Honorary Consultant Medical Microbiologist, Hammersmith Hospital, said:
“There is little in life that is without risk, but we must be sensible and use available evidence and our scientific knowledge as well as we can. I encourage everyone to become informed about infectious risks of all kinds. A lot of people have worked very hard to make the best possible preparations for the arrival of bird flu in the British isles. We should all familiarise our selves with the advice form microbiology, medical and government experts, then follow it. We have learnt a lot from the experience of other countries. That is a very positive thing. At this point in time we know there is not a great risk to humans. What we need is sensible, responsible behaviour and to support the poultry farmers in safeguarding their flocks. Then be alert.
“I’d like to see much more microbiology and infection teaching in schools. Then everyone would be better informed.”
Paul Hunter, Professor of Health Protection, University of East Anglia, said:
“Even if it is confirmed that the swan died from the highly virulent strain of avian influenza, the risk to human health in the UK is small. Transmission from birds to humans only seems to occur following close and prolonged contact with infected birds. Furthermore, there is no evidence of transmission from an infected human to another. People should also not be worried about consumption of poultry as again there is no evidence that the disease is transmitted through food consumption.”
Dr Jim Robertson, National Institute of Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), said:
“There is a better chance of a person winning the national lottery than catching bird flu in the UK today.”
Dr Azra Ghani, Reader in Infectious Disease Modelling, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said:
“If the case is confirmed as H5N1 the main risk is to the poultry industry. Defra has a detailed contingency plan which has been put into place with a restricted zone of 3km around the site of infection and a further surveillance zone of 10km. This is an appropriate response to a single case, not yet confirmed, and further measures are likely to be brought into place today once the case is confirmed.
“There has been much discussion about two issues – bringing birds indoors and vaccination. Bringing birds indoors is a sensible precaution if it were straightforward to do and I understand that Defra have advised all poultry holdings to consider the implications of doing this on their flock. There are consequences that mean that a nationwide policy may not be appropriate. These include importantly bird welfare issues – e.g. is there sufficient space and is it feasible – plus the implications for free range status.
“Vaccination is a difficult issue for poultry. Current vaccines may result in infected birds that have no symptoms of infection but remain infectious to others and hence could cause the disease to become endemic in the population. The standard way to check for this occurring is to use “sentinel” birds – by placing 10-30 unvaccinated birds in a vaccinated flock, if these birds die then there may be hidden infection in the flock. Even simple measures are not straightforward to implement in large holdings of 100,000 or more birds. There are also logistical problems which mean that it is not sensible to consider vaccination of all poultry.” Broiler birds (those reared for meat) live on average 5 to 6 weeks and there are millions of such birds in the country at any single point in time and hence it is extremely unlikely that they could be vaccinated.”
Dr Diana Bell, Senior Lecturer, Wildlife Disease Biology, University of East Anglia, said:
“Areas of infected poultry are to remain the most probable epicentres for H5N1 spread into wild birds. The UK is more likely to be able to contain odd H5N1 incursions than countries in continental Europe exposed to higher frequencies of undocumented movement of infected domestic birds (from eastern countries like Poland and Russia where the pathogen has already been reported in poultry).
“Preoccupation with effect on poultry has diverted attention away from the equally important question of possible H5N1 impact on biodiversity, both bird and mammal.”