BB FANS

As turkey cull ends ministers and farmers hope virus has not spread guardian

Bird flu outbreak vet in hospital

A vet involved in the outbreak of bird flu in Suffolk has been admitted to hospital with a mild respiratory illness, the Health Protection Agency said.

The HPA said a range of tests was being carried out to establish the cause of the illness, one of which would be for the H5N1 avian flu.

The HPA spokesman said: "It is highly unlikely the worker has been exposed to H5N1 because of the strict precautionary measures followed. The individual had not been pre-exposed and was wearing full protective clothing."

He said experts hoped the have the results of tests back by Wednesday. He added: "We have a rather faster test these days and it shouldn't take too long to get the results."

Meanwhile, Europe's top veterinary experts ruled out vaccinations to tackle the UK bird flu outbreak.

At talks in Brussels they approved the UK Government's efforts so far to isolate the virus, and dismissed the vaccination option as the answer to protecting poultry flocks "at this time". But the controversial issue will be studied in detail at an international conference in Italy next month.

Earlier a Commission spokesman said decisions by some countries to ban all poultry exports from the UK were "totally disproportionate" and "unjustified". He urged South Africa, Japan, Russia, Hong Kong and South Korea to resume business as usual.

The all-day meeting of the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health - made up of national government vets from the 27 member states - reviewed and approved the current safety procedures at and around the affected Bernard Matthews farm.

After hearing a report from Simon Hall, from Defra's international animal health division, a committee statement said the origin of the virus was still under investigation.

Testing of samples from infected turkeys was still going on at the EU bird flu laboratory in Weybridge and "may help to clarify the source of the outbreak".

Ananova

11.27, Thu Feb 8 2007

Bird flu farm worker given all clear

A farm worker involved with the bird flu outbreak at a turkey farm in Suffolk has tested negative for the disease.

The man underwent checks at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, overnight, after complaining of respiratory symptoms.

Health experts said they expected more workers from the Bernard Matthews farm to report illnesses.

Officials at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said it was "probably inevitable" that more people would report ailments and need checks.

A vet was checked at a hospital in Nottingham on Tuesday and also given the all clear.

ITV

Bird Flu: More H5N1 Cases
February 08, 2007

More cases of the potentially-dead H5N1 strain of bird flu have been found at the turkey farm in Suffolk where 160,000 birds were culled earlier this week.

Defra's deputy chief vet, Fred Landeg, told Sky News that tests on birds slaughtered in three other buildings near the original shed at a Bernard Matthews farm in Holton, Suffolk, last week showed strains of the virus.

It is also being suggested that avian flu may have arrived in the UK with poultry products imported from Hungary.

Dr Lendeg said the Suffolk virus and that found in wild geese in Hungary last month may be identical.

A newspaper is claiming that a consignment of turkey meat arrived at the site shortly before the outbreak.

Scientists for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are checking food processing arrangements at a Bernard Matthews-owned plant in Hungary in an effort to trace the source of the deadly bug.

Bernard Matthews, which co-operating with the inquiry, has volunteered to cease trade movements between the UK and Hungary.

The investigation is including arrangements at a food processing plant next to the turkey farm where nearly 160,000 birds were slaughtered.

Dr Landeg said: "Our investigations have shown that one possible route of infection is poultry product imported from Hungary.

"It is important that this is investigated thoroughly, along with all the other possible routes."

The Observer newspaper is to report claims that a consignment of dead turkeys travelled by lorry from the Hungarian plant and arrived in the UK a few days before 27 January.

That was the date when farm workers began to notice the first signs of illness in the turkey chicks at the Suffolk farm.

A spokesman for Bernard Matthews had told the paper that its two operations were connected only in terms of ownership.

"All our birds are British. The fact that we have a Hungarian operation is immaterial. It is very unlikely. It's a complete mystery to us. We have the highest biosafety standards of anyone.

"We are waiting for Defra to finish its investigations and they will tell us the likely cause." Skynews

Bird flu: Is Bernard Matthews to blame?

Factory farm giant Bernard Matthews was being investigated Thursday night over claims that lethal bird flu may have been brought into Britain on a lorryload of turkeys imported from Hungary.

Whitehall officials are looking into claims that the firm failed to disclose fully imports of turkey meat from Hungary, where there has recently been an outbreak of bird flu.

A senior official source said: "We are investigating the possibility of a number of serious breaches."

DailyMail

Friday February 9, 2007

Official: H5N1 may be in human food chain

The Food Standards Agency confirmed today that it was investigating the possibility that turkey meat contaminated by bird flu at a Bernard Matthews poultry farm has entered the human food chain.

The government's chief scientist, Sir David King, said the agency would be considering ordering supermarkets to remove packaged turkey from shelves after it emerged that Bernard Matthews had been transporting turkey meat from Hungary to the Suffolk farm where the H5N1 strain of the virus was discovered.

The environment minister Ben Bradshaw warned that legal action could be launched following the latest developments and possible breaches in bio-security at the plant.

"As part of the investigation into what might have caused the outbreak of bird flu in a Suffolk poultry farm, the agency will check that no infected meat has got into food," the FSA said in a statement.

"Our advice that avian flu does not pose a food safety risk remains unchanged. However, it is illegal for infected meat to be in our food and so the agency would take any appropriate action if it were found to be there.

"The investigation will include arrangements at the farm's adjacent plant for food processing and whether infected meat has got into the food chain."

Guardian Unlimited

Friday February 9, 2007 6:43 PM

Supermarkets face products recall
Press Association
Supermarkets were facing a possible nationwide recall of processed turkey products in an attempt to halt the spread of bird flu.

The Government's chief scientist Professor Sir David King warned the H5N1 virus could be picked up by other birds or animals if they came into contact with meat from infected poultry.

Following a meeting the Government's Cobra emergency planning committee, Animal Welfare minister Ben Bradshaw confirmed that officials were looking at a possible breaches of "bio-security" at the plant.

Guardian