February 2, 2007

veterinary expert responds to the news of poultry deaths in Suffolk

This follows the news that turkeys at a Suffolk farm had died following a ‘mystery illness’.

David Catlow, President of the British Veterinary Association, said:

“It hard to know the significance of this announcement. There are often many false alarms that cause people to worry that avian influenza unnecessarily so we should not worry about this yet. We will have to wait for these birds to be tested until we can draw any conclusions on this issue. It is reassuring that all the correct processes and procedures are being carried out to find out what is going on as soon as possible. This is simply a routine investigation.

“There are many reasons that birds stop feeding and cause death. Large numbers of birds can die of diseases such as Salmonella and E.coli.”