The National Public Health Service (NPHS) for Wales has declared the recent Avian Influenza outbreak over. All those whose health was being monitored after possible contact with infected poultry and/or people are well and have come through the incubation period without developing any symptoms.
Further information may be obtained on the NPHS website.
General Information on Avian Influenza The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead or wild birds unless necessary. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza helpline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
A smallholding in North Wales is at the centre of an outbreak of avian influenza. The influenza virus responsible for the outbreak is influenza A H7N2, a strain of low pathogenicity, which generally causes mild illness in birds and has been associated in the past with only mild illness in humans.
All movements on and off the premises have been prohibited since 23 May 2007 and a 1 km restriction zone around the farm was put in place. All the poultry on the farm were culled.
The National Public Health Service (NPHS) for Wales is currently investigating a number of people who were associated with the incident who have experienced either flu like symptoms or conjunctivitis. As of 29 May 2007, 13 avian flu contacts had been identified who have or have flu like illness or conjunctivitis. No one is seriously ill and the risk to the general public is low. People who have had prolonged close contact with infected poultry and/or people associated with the outbreak have been offered a 10 day course of antiviral medication called Tamiflu.
Despite this incident the current level of risk to humans from H7N2 remains extremely low. Nonetheless, any possibility of exposure is taken very seriously and the National Public Health Service for Wales is working closely with the Animal Health and Welfare department in the Welsh Assembly to ensure that all necessary actions are being taken to protect those people who may have been exposed to the virus. Further information may be obtained on the NPHS website.
General Information on Avian Influenza The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead or wild birds unless necessary. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza helpline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
On 13th February 2007, the Veterinary Laboratory Agency (VLA) UK, confirmed that the laboratory analysis of the Suffolk and Hungary H5N1 avian influenza viruses is now complete.The VLA analysis has revealed a very high similarity (99.96%) at the whole genome level between the H5N1 viruses found in the Suffolk andHungarian outbreaks. These results indicate that the viruses are essentially identical.No further cases of bird flu have been found beyond those on the infected premises near Lowestoft, UK.
As required by European Union legislation, control measures were put in place around the affected premises on the evening of 1 February, and a cull of all poultry on the farm began on 3 February. The operation was completed on 5 February. Among the total of 159,000 turkeys on the farm, 2,500 were reported to have died due to avian influenza and the rest were culled.
A three-kilometre protection zone and a 10-kilometre outer surveillance zone have been imposed around the farm to prevent further spread to neighbouring flocks and farms. Within the protection and surveillance zones, poultry movement restrictions are in place, and farmed birds must be isolated from wild birds. A wider zone of 2,000 square kilometres has also been established around the protection and surveillance zones, and poultry in this zone must also be isolated from wild birds and can only be moved under license. As of Friday 16th, the ban on bird gatherings in the non-restrictedparts of England has been lifted and gatherings permitted again under general licence. The ban will remain in place within the entirety of the Restricted Zone, as per the legal requirements.
In 2007, the UK is the 2nd EU Member State, along with Hungary, to report a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in poultry.
Risk to Humans
Despite this incident, the current level of risk to humans from H5N1 has been assessed as extremely low. Nonetheless, any possibility of exposure is taken very seriously, and measures to protect the considerable number of people involved in the culling and disposal operations that may have been exposed to the virus have been put in place. Specifically, this involves the wearing of personal protective equipment and antiviral drugs and seasonal influenza vaccine being offered to those who have been in close contact with the infected poultry. Potentially exposed people have been advised to monitor their own health and report any symptoms. The Health Protection Agency (HPA), UK has now carried out testing on a total of four people who have been involved in the avian flu outbreak on a poultry farm in Holton, Suffolk. Three workers who were tested last week all had symptoms that could indicate the possibility of avian influenza and which required further investigation according to Agency protocols. A fourth person who did not work directly with poultry was tested as a precautionary measure and received a negative result over the weekend. All the patients are now being treated under normal clinical care, or have been discharged from hospital where appropriate.
Global Context
H5N1 avian influenza remains predominantly a disease of birds. All evidence to date indicates that close contact with dead or sick birds is the principal source of human infection with the H5N1 virus. Especially risky behaviours identified include the slaughtering, de-feathering, butchering and preparation for consumption of infected birds. In a few cases, exposure to chicken faeces when children played in an area frequented by free-ranging poultry is thought to have been the source of infection. In all human cases to date there has been no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission and human infections remain a rare event.As of the 19th February 2007, 274 confirmed human cases and 167 (61%) deaths from avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported to the WHO from Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead wild birds unless necessary. For further information please consult the Department of Agriculture and Food website. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza Hotline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
Update on the Outbreak of Avian Influenza in UK
An outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, which occurred on 1 February 2007, has been confirmed on a large closed poultry farm in Suffolk, east England, according to the United Kingdom ministry of agriculture (DEFRA, http://www.defra.gov.uk/). The UK State Veterinary Service was contacted by a private veterinarian who suspected an avian notifiable disease. Laboratory testing of poultry found dead on the farm was undertaken at the European Community laboratory in Weybridge, UK. The samples were shown to contain the highly pathogenic Asian strain of the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The same strain was responsible for a recent outbreak in Hungary. In 2007, the UK is the 2nd EU Member State, along with Hungary, to report a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in poultry.
As required by European Union legislation, control measures were put in place around the affected premises on the evening of 1 February, and a cull of all poultry on the farm began on 3 February. The operation was completed on 5 February. Among the total of 159,000 turkeys on the farm, 2,500 were reported to have died due to avian influenza and the rest were culled.
A three-kilometre protection zone and a 10-kilometre outer surveillance zone have been imposed around the farm to prevent further spread to neighbouring flocks and farms. Within the protection and surveillance zones, poultry movement restrictions are in place, and farmed birds must be isolated from wild birds. A wider zone of 2,000 square kilometres has also been established around the protection and surveillance zones, and poultry in this zone must also be isolated from wild birds and can only be moved under license. All organised bird gatherings, including shows, markets and fairs, and pigeon races, have been banned throughout Britain until further notice.
Risk to Humans
Despite this incident, the current level of risk to humans from H5N1 has been assessed as extremely low. Nonetheless, any possibility of exposure is taken very seriously, and measures to protect the considerable number of people involved in the culling and disposal operations that may have been exposed to the virus have been put in place. Specifically, this involves the wearing of personal protective equipment and antiviral drugs and seasonal influenza vaccine being offered to those who have been in close contact with the infected poultry. Potentially exposed people have been advised to monitor their own health and report any symptoms. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the UK has now carried out testing on three workers who have been involved in the avian flu outbreak.All three had symptoms that could indicate the possibility of avian influenza and which required further investigation according to HPA protocols. All three have tested negative for avian flu and are now being treated under normal clinical care, or have been discharged from hospital where appropriate.
Global Context
H5N1 avian influenza remains predominantly a disease of birds. All evidence to date indicates that close contact with dead or sick birds is the principal source of human infection with the H5N1 virus. Especially risky behaviours identified include the slaughtering, de-feathering, butchering and preparation for consumption of infected birds. In a few cases, exposure to chicken faeces when children played in an area frequented by free-ranging poultry is thought to have been the source of infection. In all human cases to date there has been no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission and human infections remain a rare event.As of the 12th February 2007, 272 confirmed human cases and 166 (61%) deaths from avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported to the WHO from Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead wild birds unless necessary. For further information please consult the Department of Agriculture and Food website. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza Hotline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
HPSC is monitoring the situation regarding Avian Influenza
The UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed H5N1 avian influenza on a poultry farm in North Suffolk, England. It has been identified as the highly pathogenic Asian strain, similar to the virus found in Hungary in January. The results were laboratory confirmed by experts at the State Veterinary Service. The affected premises were put under restriction on Thursday (1st February) evening and, as required under EU legislation, Defra have commenced a cull of all poultry on the infected premises and imposed a 3-kilometre protection zone and a 10-kilometre outer surveillance zone around the farm area. This is to prevent further spread to neighbouring flocks and or farms.
Despite this incident the current level of risk to humans from H5N1 remains extremely low. Nonetheless, any possibility of exposure is taken very seriously and the Health Protection Agency has worked closely with Defra and local NHS partners to ensure that all the necessary actions are being taken to protect those people who may have been exposed to the virus. These actions include the offering of antiviral drugs and seasonal influenza vaccine where appropriate to people who have been in close contact with the infected poultry.
The UK is the second EU Member State, along with Hungary, to report a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in poultry.
H5N1 avian influenza remains predominantly a disease of birds. All evidence to date indicates that close contact with dead or sick birds is the principal source of human infection with the H5N1 virus. Especially risky behaviours identified include the slaughtering, de-feathering, butchering and preparation for consumption of infected birds. In a few cases, exposure to chicken faeces when children played in an area frequented by free-ranging poultry is thought to have been the source of infection. In all human cases to date there has been no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission and human infections remain a rare event. As of the 3rd February 2007, 271 confirmed human cases and 165 (61%) deaths from avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported to the WHO from Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead wild birds unless necessary. For further information please consult the Department of Agriculture and Food website. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza Hotline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
HPSC is monitoring the situation regarding Avian Influenza
On the 7th August 2006, the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand confirmed the country's 24th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case, which was fatal, occurred in a 27-year-old man from the central province of Uthai Thani. He developed symptoms on the 24th July, was hospitalised on the 30th July, and died on the 3rd August. Investigation of his source of infection revealed contact with household chickens, which began dying around one week prior to symptom onset. This is Thailand's second case of H5N1 infection, and second fatality, within the past two weeks. Confirmation of these cases follows an 8-month period in which no human cases were reported in the country. Recent outbreaks in poultry have been officially reported in two provinces, Phichit and Nakhon Phanom, both located in the northern part of the country.
H5N1 avian influenza remains predominantly a disease of birds. A small number of human cases have been reported in South East Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, all of which have been associated with close contact with dead or dying poultry. In all human cases to date there has been no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission. Human infections remain a rare event.
The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead wild birds unless necessary. For further information please consult the Department of Agriculture and Food website. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza Hotline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
HPSC is monitoring the situation regarding Avian Influenza
On the 7th of July 2006, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture announced that the National Reference Laboratory for Avian influenza had confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in a sample from a dead wild duck (Great Crested Grebe - Podiceps cristatus) found in a lake in Vitoria in the Basque Country. Samples will be sent to the EU Community Reference Laboratory for avian influenza in Weybridge for further tests.
No other cases in birds have been detected so far in Spain and there are no other suspicious cases among wild flocks. The Spanish Ministry of agriculture is implementing measures in accordance with Commission Decision 2006/115/EC including establishing a 3 km protection zone and a 10 km surveillance zone. In this area there are no commercial farms and all the back yard poultry is being inspected.
Spain is the 14th EU Member State to report a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in wild birds. The other countries are Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, Slovakia, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Czech Republic and the UK. Avian influenza H5N1 was confirmed in poultry in five EU Member States: France, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Hungary.
H5N1 avian influenza remains predominantly a disease of birds. A small number of human cases have been reported in South East Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, all of which have been associated with close contact with dead or dying poultry. In all human cases to date there has been no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission. Human infections remain a rare event.
The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead wild birds unless necessary. For further information please consult the Department of Agriculture and Food website. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza Hotline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here
. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
The HPSC is monitoring the situation regarding Avian Influenza
The WHO has confirmed a family cluster of H5N1 avian influenza cases in the Karo District, of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. On the 23rd May 2006, the Ministry of Health in Indonesia confirmed the seventh member of an extended family to become infected with the H5N1 virus and the sixth to die. The first member of this family to fall ill died of respiratory disease on the 4th May. No specimens were taken prior to her burial and the cause of her death cannot be determined. However, as her clinical course was compatible with H5N1 infection, epidemiologists at the outbreak site include this woman as the initial case in the cluster. The newly confirmed case, is a brother of the initial case, and was closely involved in caring for his 10-year-old son, who died of H5N1 infection on the 13th May and this contact is considered a possible source of infection.
All confirmed cases in this family cluster can be directly linked to close and prolonged exposure to a patient during a phase of severe illness. Although human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out, the search for a possible alternative source of exposure is continuing.
Both the Ministry of Health in Indonesia and WHO are concerned about the situation in Northern Sumatra and have intensified investigation and response activities. Priority is now being given to the search for additional cases of influenza-like illness in other family members, close contacts, and the general community. To date, the investigation has found no evidence of spread within the general community and no evidence that efficient human-to-human transmission has occurred.
WHO H5 reference laboratories in Hong Kong and the USA have completed full genetic sequencing of two viruses isolated from cases in this cluster. There is no evidence of genetic reassortment with human or pig influenza viruses and no evidence of significant mutations. The human viruses from this cluster are genetically similar to viruses isolated from poultry in Northern Sumatra during a previous outbreak. For further information, please consult the WHO website.
H5N1 avian influenza remains predominantly a disease of birds. A small number of human cases have been reported in South East Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, all of which have been associated with close contact with dead or dying poultry. In all human cases to date there has been no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission. Human infections remain a rare event.
The advice from the Department of Agriculture and Food in Ireland is not to handle dead wild birds unless necessary. For further information please consult the Department of Agriculture and Food website. For queries relating to dead birds please contact the Department of Agriculture and Food on the Avian Influenza Hotline: 1890 252 283.
At present, recommendations on travel, personal protection and food safety remain unchanged. Current travel advice is available here. The WHO level of pandemic alert remains unchanged at phase 3. This is defined as a virus new to humans that is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another. The latest updates from the WHO are available on the WHO website.
Further information on avian influenza is also available on the HPSC website.
