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First Case of H5N1 Flu in U.K. Commercial PoultryFriday, February 9, 2007Times Online UK; Environment News Service Philippe Naughton & Valerie Elliott Read the full article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1358254.ece ; http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2007/2007-02-05-01.asp Company employees were convicted last autumn of assaulting live turkeys. The outbreak wasn't reported until two days after chicks began to die from it. All 159,000 turkeys on the premises were then killed and incinerated. Fifteen workers were initially employed to catch the birds "put them in plastic crates and on to trucks which were sent to the factory to be gassed." The company offered bonuses to get it done quickly. One worker explained: "We were working very, very fast. We were getting the birds into the boxes - bang, bang, bang as we were offered the bonus for speed." The company has acknowledged that it may be responsible for the outbreak due to its importation of tons of partially processed turkey meat from Hungary, where an outbreak of H5N1 occurred last month. DNA analysis has shown the flu strains to likely be identical. Bernard Matthews is also being investigated for breaking European Union hygiene regulations by leaving processed poultry outside. The Times Online states: "The multi-millionaire faces the possible collapse of his poultry empire if alleged irregularities are proven." All bird-related events have been indefinitely banned throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Outbreaks of H5N1 in European domestic poultry have also occurred in Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden. The virus has been detected in wild birds in Europe in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K. Four people died in Turkey last year from catching the H1N5 form of the virus from their domestic poultry flock. Various countries have begun banning British poultry. |