Clean-up begins at bird flu farm

Interesting story - good graphics too



Cleaning has begun at the Suffolk farm where 159,000 turkeys were culled after a bird flu outbreak.
All the empty sheds which housed the birds at the Bernard Matthews plant will be disinfected.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said more than 320 farm workers had taken the antiviral drug Tamiflu and so far no- one had reported being ill.

Strict controls are in place around the site near Lowestoft, but officials say the risk to humans is "negligible".

A clinic has been set up near to the plant for workers and the HPA said those who had taken the antiviral drug included the small group who may have handled more than 2,000 birds who died from the virus.


What each zone means
A 3km (1.9 miles) protection zone and a 10km (6.2 miles) surveillance zone are in place around the farm, in Holton.

Poultry owners in a wider restricted zone, covering 2,090 sq km (807 sq miles) around Holton, have been told to keep their flocks isolated from wild birds.

After the culling operation, the carcasses of the birds were transported to a plant in Cheddleton, Staffordshire, for incineration.

BBC correspondent Richard Bilton said the cleaning and disinfection of the area could last for weeks.

Experts are trying to find the source of the outbreak of the disease, identified as the "highly pathogenic" Asian strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

Tests could take weeks and it is possible the exact cause will never be known.

Rapid response

Environment Secretary David Miliband told MPs the response to the outbreak of the H5N1 strain had been "rapid, well co-ordinated and appropriate".




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Is free range the answer?

Speaking in the Commons, he said the Food Standards Agency had assured him there was no risk to people eating properly cooked poultry, including turkey and eggs.

The government says it is preparing for the "very remote possibility" the disease could mutate into a form that could spread from human to human, causing a flu pandemic.

The Department of Health has taken the advice of scientists to stockpile enough Tamiflu anti-virals to cover a quarter of the population.

The H5N1 virus, which causes bird flu, does not pose a large-scale threat to humans, as it cannot pass easily from one person to another.

Experts, however, fear the virus could mutate at some point in the future, and in its new form trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk.



Scene of outbreak

All poultry to be culled
Visitors disinfected and restricted access
3km Protection Zone

Poultry kept indoors and tested
10km Surveillance Zone

No movement of poultry to or from area except for slaughter
Trains carrying live poultry are prevented from stopping in the protection zone
Bird fairs and markets banned
Increased surveillance of wetland areas
Domestic birds not to share water used by wild birds
Footpath restrictions likely only on free-range farms
People in towns not affected unless they keep poultry.
Restriction Zone

Isolation of poultry from wild birds
Poultry movements to be licensed
Source: Defra

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6334239.stm