Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: flu + alert + bird  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

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Bird flu: Britain on high alert

 Britain is on a high alert over the possible spread of avian flu to the UK, as tests continued on a number of birds found dead in recent days.

Following the confirmation that a duck which died of bird flu in France was infected with the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus, the Government said it was "more likely" the disease would reach Britain.

A Defra spokesman said nine swans had been sent for tests over the weekend after members of the public called the helpline.

Two each were from Bury St Edmonds, Winchester and Preston, while individual birds were found in Shrewsbury, Thirsk and Hertfordshire.

"All the tests have so far been negative but testing continues," he added.

"Obviously, we are at a heightened level of surveillance given the case in France."

The spokesman was unable to confirm reports that a dead swan found in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, was being tested at the EU's Weybridge Laboratory.

A spokeswoman for the British Veterinary Association said while birds died all the time, the heightened awareness of avian influenza meant anybody finding a dead bird at the moment was likely to report it.

"A one-off dead bird isn't necessarily something to worry about, but if you come across several that's more serious.

"But given the results from France, caution is the word - people should report dead birds because if they're not infected at least they can be ruled out of the equation," she said.

Animal Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said it was not inevitable the disease would spread to Britain, but the most important thing was to identify any outbreak quickly.

Contingency plan

Britain has had a contingency plan in place for the last three-and-a-half years and was well prepared, he said.

Experts said an unusually cold winter in continental Europe may have contributed to the spread of bird flu, forcing wild birds infected with H5N1 westwards towards Britain to find food.

While swans found dead from bird flu in Austria and Germany would not pose a direct threat to Britain as they do not migrate that far, there is a risk ducks and geese could come into contact with infected birds in central Europe before heading to the UK.

Richard Thomas, spokesman for Birdlife International, said he thought it was highly likely birds escaping the cold weather were bringing the virus with them.

Mr Thomas said Birdlife believed swans and geese had picked up H5N1 in the Black Sea area by grazing on agricultural land polluted by infected poultry faeces, which may have been used as fertiliser.

While temperatures are less severe than they have been, parts of eastern Europe will grow cold and snowy again as the week progresses, potentially raising the risk of birds being pushed westwards.

Globally, avian flu has killed 91 people since 2003 - in all cases the victims contracted it from close contact with poultry.

But there are concerns the virus could mutate into a form that is easily passed from human to human, leading to a flu pandemic which could - in a worst-case scenario - kill millions worldwide.

As fears grow, scientists are aiming to separate fact from fiction over what treatments will work in the event of a human flu pandemic.

There have been claims elderberry extracts, mega-doses of vitamin C, sauer kraut, oregano oil, colloidal silver, aloe vera and garlic all have the power to combat the lethal H5N1 strain.

Experts including Professor Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the University of Exeter, and Dr Ron Cutler, of the School of Biosciences at the University of East London, will today explain at a Science Media Centre briefing in London if there is any science behind these 'cures'.

The main medical solutions to a pandemic include a vaccine, which will take months to develop once a strain emerges, and antiviral drugs which can reduce the length and severity of symptoms.

According to Dr Elspeth Garman, of the University of Oxford, two antivirals, Tamiflu and Relenza, work on all avian flu strains.

But the drugs - which have been designed specifically to target flu molecules - become ineffective after 48 hours, once a person has developed a full-blown infection.

Whether other, more unconventional, treatments can protect against H5N1 is less clear.

One study has shown an extract from black elderberries was at least 99% effective in reducing the virus in canine cells in laboratory tests.

The food supplement Sambucol prevents the virus entering cells, according to researchers, but they warned many more studies were needed to find out if the formula was effective in combating H5N1 in humans.