Bird flu move ‘not ban on British imports’

THE measures introduced last weekend by the Department of Agriculture and Food following an outbreak of a mild strain of avian flu on a farm in Wales is not an import ban on poultry from Britain.

But it is a ban on participating in shows and gatherings in Ireland of poultry other than racing pigeons and other captive birds imported from Britain since May 1, the department clarified in a statement yesterday.

Pointing out that a reciprocal arrangement applies on both sides of the border, it said there is no prohibition on poultry from Northern Ireland from participating in shows here and vice versa.

It said the ban on the involvement of birds imported from Britain since May 1 was given legal effect in a Statutory Instrument signed last Friday.

The measure prohibits the organisation or holding of shows, exhibitions, markets, sales or sporting events involving poultry brought from Britain since that date.

“It is a precautionary measure which will remain in place pending the determination of the epidemiological investigation and tracing exercise currently being undertaken by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK,” it said.

The statement pointed out that department officials in Dublin maintained contact with colleagues, particularly in Belfast, over the weekend and that no further measures are considered necessary at this stage.

But they are continuing to monitor closely the situation in Wales and are awaiting the outcome of test results from a second farm.

The department repeated its appeal for anybody who may have purchased poultry at Chelford Market in Cheshire on May 7 to contact its dedicated avian ‘flu helpline at 1890 252 283.

Officials investigating two possible cases of bird flu in north Wales have now traced 36 people who may have been in contact with the disease. The figure has risen from 26, and 11 have shown flu-like symptoms, but none is said to have been seriously ill.

Meanwhile, scientists said today they had potentially found a way of combating the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu that has claimed dozens of lives globally.

The partly UK-funded research successfully used antibodies from survivors of the virus to stop the full-blown disease from developing in mice.

The H5N1 strain has killed millions of birds across the globe and has occasionally been passed on to humans with often fatal results.

By mid-May, according to the World Health Organisation, there had been 306 known cases in humans, 185 of them fatal.

But the scientists based in Vietnam, Switzerland and the US, are optimistic that antibodies from Vietnamese survivors could be used in the fight against infection.