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Really Bad Bird Flu News
A dead cat in Germany has found to be infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. Tests are still ongoing to see whether the virus was the deadly variant which has led to sickness and fatalities among humans in Turkey and Asia. It said the cat was found at the weekend on an island off Germany's northern coast.Meanwhile, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser has predicted bird flu will definitely arrive in the UK and, when it does, it will remain for at least five years, Professor Sir David King said that avian flu poses no risks to consumers and added that he expects the disease to reach British shores in months, rather than days or weeks, due to migratory patterns. And in a turnaround, he conceded vaccines may have to be used if the outbreak is widespread. Meanwhile, Sweden said it has detected its first cases of an "aggressive form of bird flu" - though it was not yet confirmed as the deadly H5N1 strain - in two wild ducks. Sir David said: "I would anticipate that avian flu will arrive at some point in the UK. "We also have to anticipate that it will be here for five years plus. We are talking about the possibility of this disease being endemic here in the UK as it did in China. It is a long-term factor." "The Chinese have adopted the position of mass vaccination, and if it became so widespread here we might have to go down that route even with the vaccination not being very good," he said. Yesterday, he said the existing H5N1 inoculation would mask signs of the virus in birds but not prevent its spread. Rare breeds of birds kept in zoos would be the only cases where vaccines would be feasible. The inoculation of organic or free range birds would not be recommended. Sir David said the UK was currently monitoring the development in China of a new vaccine against the H5N1 strain of avian flu. Commercial poultry owners who keep 50 birds or more have until today to register their flocks on Defra's new national poultry register. Keepers with fewer than 50 birds are not required to register at present but may do so voluntarily after today if they wish. The US has an estimated 60 million domesticated and 60 million feral cats. This makes them an extraordinarily dangerous animal vector, far worse than birds. Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-02-28 |
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