Scottish bird flu case 'probably a one-off'

The first case of bird flu in Britain is looking more like a “one-off”, experts said today.

DNA tests revealed that the swan was a migrating whooper which comes to the UK in the winter months from northern Europe.

Experts initially thought it was a mute swan after it was discovered in the village of Cellardyke in Fife at the end of last month.

One of the country’s leading microbiologists, Professor Hugh Pennington, said today’s news made it more likely the case was an isolated one.

He said: “This is good news because if it was a mute swan, the fear was that it had been mixing with other birds and passing on the virus.

“We know some water birds, like ducks, can have bird flu but not fall ill and as the only birds being picked up were dead ones there was always the possibility that other infected birds could be lurking out there.

“This whooper swan probably came from Germany and may have died off the Scottish coast as it struggled across the sea.

“This raises the likelihood that it had no contact with any native birds and that this case of H5N1 on our shores was a one-off.”

It was confirmed last Thursday that the swan had the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Scotland’s chief vet Charles Milne said today it was impossible to say whether the bird caught the disease in another country or contracted it in the UK.

No other birds have tested positive for H5N1 since it was found in Cellardyke.

Mr Milne said: “Many whooper swans have been tested over the past few months and all have been negative.”

He said the birds originate from outside Britain but about 7,500 migrate to this country during the winter months.

Most are expected to have left Scotland over the next few weeks.

He added: “We are working on the assumption that the bird migrated to this country but it’s impossible to say precisely where it died.”

The bird’s body was badly decomposed and had been partially eaten when it was found, leading to confusion over its species.

Once tests confirmed it had the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu samples were sent off for DNA testing, which revealed it was a whooper swan.

Mr Milne added that more than 1,000 samples have been taken from dead birds since February 1 resulting in only one positive result.

He added: “There’s some significance in the fact that whooper swans are long distance migrants. They do potentially move around more than mute swans.”

Scottish environment minister Ross Finnie said the situation was still very serious but added: “It certainly isn’t a crisis.”

He said if experts recommended new measures then he would support them.

The minister added: “I will take whatever advice I receive.

“If that indicates a higher degree of risk we will not hesitate to change the measures.”

A spokesman for RSPB Scotland also said it was good news that the Cellardyke swan was not native.

He said: “It possibly became ill halfway across the sea, died and was washed up, so hopefully had zero interaction with native birds.

“In terms of the unequivocal announcement last week that this was a mute swan, what this underlines is the importance of getting the species right.

“We hope the authorities will learn from this mistake as species is vital in nailing down where the virus is travelling to and from.”