Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm

Human-transmissible H5N1 strain detected; 6,000 birds killed as precaution
By Ryan Riley,  Newser User
Posted Nov 13, 2007 4:57 PM CST
Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm
Dead turkeys are loaded onto a truck at Redgrave Park Farm, in Redgrave, England, following an outbreak of bird flu at the turkey farm Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007. The source of the outbreak had not yet been identified, acting chief veterinarian official Fred Landeg said. Officials said earlier that about...   (Associated Press)

The avian flu that decimated a British turkey farm is the dangerous H5N1 strain, which can spread to humans. Authorities are taking extreme precautions, reports the Telegraph, slaughtering about 6,000 birds and forbidding the transportation of poultry within a 6-mile "surveillance zone.” The H5N1 strain has killed more than 150 people worldwide.

Outbreaks of a similar strain in the Czech Republic and Germany last summer “suggest a possible wild bird source,” says a government official, adding that wild fowl do live on the farm. When the H5N1 strain was last discovered in England in early February, more than 160,000 birds were slaughtered as a safety measure. (More England stories.)

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