bad_meetz_evil
02-19-2006, 03:07 PM
Fears of bird flu arriving in Britain have increased after France confirmed that a wild duck has died of the deadly H5N1 form of the disease.
The virus has spread through many countries in Europe and is now only 400 miles from the UK.
The duck was found dead in a bird reserve in the town of Joyeux, north of Lyon - the closest the virus has come to the British Isles.
France insists it is doing all it can to prevent the spread of H5N1, ordering all poultry to be kept inside or vaccinated in an attempt to prevent the spread from wild birds to fowl.
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Some experts are now warning it is only a matter of time before it reaches Britain.
In a separate case, India has confirmed that a poultry farmer has become the first human to die of bird flu in the country.
India announced its first cases of H5N1 in chickens after some of 30,000 birds that died in Navapur, Maharashtra, tested positive.
The H5N1 strain is responsible for the deaths of 91 people in Asia and Turkey.
As the virus closes in on Britain, all poultry is being kept indoors in Austria after a wild swan was found to have died of the deadly strain in the capital Vienna.
Cases have been confirmed around the world Germany has announced that another 28 wild birds have been found to have the H5N1 strain and hundreds more are being tested.
Greece, Italy and Slovenia have also notified outbreaks, and results are awaited on samples from Austria and Hungary sent to the EU's testing laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey.
Humans have so far only contracted the disease directly from birds.
However, scientists fear H5N1 could mutate into a form easily passed between humans and spark a human flu pandemic.
The Government has drawn up plans to set up one-mile exclusion zones if a wild bird is found to be infected with the deadly strain in Britain.
See our interactive map of the world which charts the spread of bird flu.
The virus has spread through many countries in Europe and is now only 400 miles from the UK.
The duck was found dead in a bird reserve in the town of Joyeux, north of Lyon - the closest the virus has come to the British Isles.
France insists it is doing all it can to prevent the spread of H5N1, ordering all poultry to be kept inside or vaccinated in an attempt to prevent the spread from wild birds to fowl.
Advertisement
Some experts are now warning it is only a matter of time before it reaches Britain.
In a separate case, India has confirmed that a poultry farmer has become the first human to die of bird flu in the country.
India announced its first cases of H5N1 in chickens after some of 30,000 birds that died in Navapur, Maharashtra, tested positive.
The H5N1 strain is responsible for the deaths of 91 people in Asia and Turkey.
As the virus closes in on Britain, all poultry is being kept indoors in Austria after a wild swan was found to have died of the deadly strain in the capital Vienna.
Cases have been confirmed around the world Germany has announced that another 28 wild birds have been found to have the H5N1 strain and hundreds more are being tested.
Greece, Italy and Slovenia have also notified outbreaks, and results are awaited on samples from Austria and Hungary sent to the EU's testing laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey.
Humans have so far only contracted the disease directly from birds.
However, scientists fear H5N1 could mutate into a form easily passed between humans and spark a human flu pandemic.
The Government has drawn up plans to set up one-mile exclusion zones if a wild bird is found to be infected with the deadly strain in Britain.
See our interactive map of the world which charts the spread of bird flu.