Unlucky 13: deadly virus reaches across EU
The virus had already struck in Greece, Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic before this week's confirmed case in Scotland.
Bird flu has hit commercial poultry in Germany, France and Sweden.
France notified the H5N1 strain in February, and on Wednesday, Germany confirmed H5N1 near Leipzig - triggering the slaughter of about 10,000 birds at the farm.
The spreading outbreak has been continually monitored by the Standing Committee, made up of senior government vets from the 25 EU countries, and by the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou.
His advice throughout has been "don't panic", as he has pointed out that there is no evidence that the disease can mutate into a form transmissible between humans.
When Greece became the first member state to declare the discovery of a dead migratory swan carrying the deadly H5N1 strain, emergency procedures to shut down the movement of poultry in the affected area had to be formally adopted by Brussels.
As other countries fell victim, EU veterinary experts swiftly approved arrangements triggering identical measures to be applied automatically in any member states notifying a suspected case of bird flu.
Egypt was the latest country to report human victims of the deadly strain of bird flu. The country's authorities announced on Thursday that a 16-year-old girl had died of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus and an eight-year-old boy had tested positive.
Iman Mohammed Abdel Gawad died at Eshmon Hospital, health ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shahin said.
"She had a high fever and she could hardly breathe when she was examined," Mr Shahin said.
The boy, whose name was not released, was in a relatively stable condition and is receiving medical treatment in Cairo, the Health Ministry spokesman said.
Both were from provinces in the Nile Delta, north of the capital Cairo, and their families raised poultry for domestic consumption.
There have been 11 human victims in Egypt so far. The only other countries in the region to have recorded human cases of the virus are Iraq and Turkey, which has suffered the most serious outbreak with a total of 12 afflicted persons, including four fatalities.
Outbreaks in birds have sparked mass culling in the aforementioned countries as well as in Israel and Jordan.
Egypt is on a main route for migratory birds, at the crossroads between Asia and Africa. It discovered its first bird flu case in birds in February. It detected human cases the following month.
Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that about 200,000 chickens will be slaughtered in and around 14 villages in western India where poultry has tested positive for bird flu.
Maharashtra state animal husbandry official SM Ali said yesterday the birds were infected with the H5 type of bird flu, but it was not yet clear whether they had the virulent H5N1 strain, said
Authorities will still kill all chickens within six miles of each of the 14 villages, he said.
The positive samples were mostly from small, backyard chicken farms in the Jalgaon district in western Maharashtra state.
Avian flu, or bird flu, is an infectious disease affecting poultry and sometimes pigs. There are several different types - the current outbreak is known as H5N1.
Infected birds carry the influenza virus in their saliva, nasal secretions and faeces. Susceptible birds become infected when they have contact with contaminated secretions or excretions or with contaminated surfaces.
No. Domesticated birds may become infected with avian influenza virus through direct contact with infected waterfowl or other infected poultry, or through contact with surfaces such as cages or materials such as water or feed contaminated with the virus. It can make some domesticated birds very sick and kill them.
The "low pathogenic" form may go undetected and usually causes only mild symptoms. The highly pathogenic form spreads more rapidly and affects multiple internal organs. It has a mortality rate that can reach 90%-100%, often within 48 hours.
It has shown that is capable of leaping the species barrier and there have already been 60 or so human deaths from the disease.
If someone who was already infected with the human flu virus caught bird flu, the two viruses could produce a highly contagious and lethal hybrid.
Potentially, very. Because humans would not be immune, scientists fear a devastating pandemic.
Cases so far have generally involved people who were in close contact with infected poultry. There are a few suspected cases of human-to-human transmission but only after prolonged contact. So far, at least, it seems bird flu cannot spread easily from person to person.
There is no confirmed case of a person catching bird flu from a wild bird. It is extremely unlikely bird flu could be spread through feeding birds but good hygiene is sensible - not letting birds feed out of hands and ensuring hands are washed after feeding or coming into contact with bird droppings.
The virus cannot survive at high temperatures so properly-cooked meat should present no risk. However, the virus can survive on raw meat that has been in contact with infected poultry. Proper hygiene - hand washing and the disinfecting of all surfaces in contact with the meat - is essential
The early symptoms are much the same as conventional flu - fever and coughing. Symptoms in humans also include eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases and life-threatening complications.
Not yet, though scientists are working on one. However, if a new strain developed by mixing with human flu, a new vaccine would have to be developed. There are some drugs that can be used to prevent and treat the flu - notably Tamiflu. However, supplies could run out.
If you have visited a country that is at risk from bird flu and have been in contact with live poultry or pigs and have developed flu symptoms within seven days of this contact you should contact your local GP.
Call the bird flu helpline on 1890-252283.
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