Bird flu is back in the UK with 6,000 turkeys geese and ducks slaughtered at a factory farm near Diss in Norfolk, not that far away from the Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk which contracted bird flu earlier this year. Tests will reveal later today whether or not this is the same H5N1 strain which can be fatal to humans, although preliminary tests have already narrowed down to the H5 family.
As with last time, suspicion may initially fall on wild birds rather than on Bernard Matthews eastern European connections and poor biosecurity but the RSPB have explained that no wild birds have been found with avian flu anywhere in Europe since August this year and that the annual autumn migration of wild swans and geese is now almost over.
For the latest news keep an eye on Warmwell/h5n1
The actual farm this time is Redgrave Farm, which is run by Redgrave Poultry, part of the Gressingham foods group.
Update: See also January 2008 – Bird flu detected in three dead swans
Andy Roberts is a writer who initiated DARnet. Contact me on aroberts@gmail.com or @aroberts on twitter
Hello from the US, where Thanksgiving will be celebrated this week, I’m sorry to hear about the bird flu, since many of us will be feasting on Turkey this week, that would be a big problem for us
Thanks for stopping by and visiting Happy Nutritionists’s Nuggets a while back. Have a great day!