Government scientists have confirmed the outbreak of deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at Suffolk turkey farm and warned that the deadly bird flu may already be endemic in British wild birds.

British vets are viewing at the possibility that it was brought either by wild, migrating birds, or the transfer of goods and people overseas.

The culling of about 6500 birds including turkeys, ducks, and geese, on the Redgrave Park Farm, near Diss, started after the free-range turkeys on the premises began dying from the mystery illness. Another two poultry farms have been feared to be in contact with the infection, may be culled in next few days.

Government’s acting chief veterinary officer, Fred Landeg, said that DNA tests on virus indicated it was the same strain that resulted in outbreak of bird flu in domestic poultry in Germany and Czech Republic
earlier this year.

Dr Landeg said, “This does suggest a possible wild bird source, but at this stage we’re keeping an open mind. There is a lake on Redgrave Park Farm, near Diss, where the outbreak has occurred and so there is a possibility that there was mingling between domestic water fowl and wild birds.”

But, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said that wild birds had not been the cause of February outbreak of bird flu at turkey farm run by the Bernard Mathhews company that was later associated with processed meat from Hungary.

Mark Avery, the RSPB’s conservation director, said that most migrating birds have arrived for winter and no dead wild birds have been found.

Dr Avery said, “If migrating wild birds were carrying bird flu, their corpses would have been found north and east of the United Kingdom, the routes that migrating wildfowl take. But there have been no recent reports of wild birds dying of bird flu in the countries on their migration routes. Jumping to conclusions over the source of bird flu could blind us to courses of action that should be taken.”

“We can’t rule out wild birds as carriers but we’re not even close to knowing that claim is true.”

The outbreak of virus has worst affected the poultry industry as it prepares for Christmas, and can destroy £400 million market for Christmas birds. Nearly three million birds are alone in 10km surveillance zone around Redgrave Park Farm.

John McCauley of MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London,
said, “Not all avian influenza viruses have the same ability to infect humans
and none to date, other than this current H5N1 virus, which has shown this high
mortality in humans. Analysis of the virus over the next day or so will be
likely to be able to determine the origin of the virus.”

British prime minister has ordered a review of UK food security.