Bird Flu Hits Sweden

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http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...452570,00.html

BIRD FLU HITS SWEDEN
Bird flu has been discovered in Sweden but scientists have yet to confirm whether it is the deadly H5N1 strain.

Sweden's National Veterinary Institute said a duck found dead east of the capital has tested positive for avian flu. Confirmation of the exact strain is due tomorrow.

The news comes shortly after the British government called for a ban on the trade of all live birds in the EU in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, experts are carrying out tests on a parrot found to have died from Britain's first case of bird flu - but the Government and the EU insist the UK still has disease-free status.

The parrot was in quarantine when it died of the H5 strain of the virus and scientists are trying to confirm whether it was the feared H5N1 strain that is deadly to humans.

Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said: "The confirmed case does not affect the UK's official disease free status because the disease has been identified in imported birds during quarantine."

More than 300 birds which were being held in a biosecure quarantine unit at an undisclosed location have been humanely culled.

The parrot was part of a mixed consignment of 148 birds that arrived from Suriname, South America on September 16. They were being held with 216 birds from Taiwan.

H5N1, which has infected over 100 people, killing 60 of them, recently spread into Romania, Turkey and Russia.

The H5 strain has also been confirmed in Croatia.

Dr Reynolds said the "incident showed the importance of the UK's quarantine system".

The last time a case of avian flu was confirmed in Britain was 1992.

It is a highly-infectious viral disease which affects poultry, pigeons and other birds and varies in severity, from causing no deaths to killing entire flocks in hours.

It is most easily spread through bird secretions, particularly faeces, but can also be passed via objects contaminated by an infected bird.

The UK's Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson has warned that a flu pandemic may kill up to 50,000 people in the UK alone.

Between two and 50 million are expected to die globally if a pandemic occurs.

:: China has said it will close its borders if it discovers a single case of human-to-human transmission of bird flu.

guess its time to start hoping.. this is spreading far quicker than we have all thought