British bird flu worker in hospital

A worker involved in the outbreak of bird flu in England has been admitted to hospital with a mild respiratory illness, the British Health Protection Agency said tonight.

The HPA would not confirm if the worker was a vet but said a range of tests was being carried out to establish the cause of the illness, one of which would be for the H5N1 avian flu.

The HPA spokesman said: “It is highly unlikely the worker has been exposed to H5N1 because of the strict precautionary measures followed. The individual had not been pre-exposed and was wearing full protective clothing.”

The HPA spokesman would not say what the worker did nor whether it was a man or a woman.

“We have someone who has mild respiratory problems – a worker,” said the spokesman.

“As a precaution we are testing for H5N1.

“They were wearing fully protective gear and it is highly unlikely that they would have become infected.

“As I understand they have been working on the farm after the outbreak so this is not someone with a case of prior infection.”

He said experts hoped the have the results of tests back by tomorrow.

He added: “We have a rather faster test these days and it shouldn’t take too long to get the results.

“I don’t know whether we would have them tonight, we should have them first thing tomorrow.”