Dead Parrot at Center of British Avian Flu Mystery
Michael Smith,
MedPage Today
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London (UK):
Mystery continues to surround the death of a South American parrot from the H5N1 avian-flu strain in a quarantine facility near London. A spokesman for the British environment ministry said today it's still unclear how a parrot imported from Suriname, in South America, died from the H5N1 avian-flu strain.
There have been no reports of the H5N1 strain in South America. The ministry's "working hypothesis" is that the parrot became infected while it was in a quarantine facility in Chelmsford, northeast of London, the ministry's chief veterinarian, Debby Reynolds, Ph.D., said earlier in a statement. The probable source, Dr. Reynolds said, is birds imported from Taiwan that shared the same airspace in the quarantine facility.
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See Also:
Bird flu may have entered Britain earlier: report
Parrot quarantined next door to foot and mouth farm
Scientists still searching for source of Britain's first deadly bird flu case
Two consignments of birds, one warehouse, and a ticking clock
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Taiwanese officials were quoted today as saying that the British government had already ruled out the birds from Taiwan, but the environment ministry spokesman said the matter is still under investigation.
It's also unclear how many birds from South America were infected; samples from two birds were pooled, leaving authorities unable to say for certain whether they both carried the virus, Dr. Reynolds said. Dr. Reynolds also said the practice of mingling birds from different parts of the world in the same quarantine area will be reviewed.
There are about 2,000 imported birds under 30-day quarantine in Britain. The environment ministry said none will be released until after a case-by-case assessment. Britain is officially free of avian flu and the current uproar doesn't change that status, Dr. Reynolds said.
However, other parts of Europe have already seen avian flu in both wild birds and poultry. The latest area hit is Croatia, which late last week reported that the virus had been found in dead swans.
British authorities said they had not seen the parrot's H5N1 strain before, but the closest match on file was found in ducks from China earlier this year.
Oct 24, 2005
Michael Smith, MedPage Today
____________
London (UK):
Mystery continues to surround the death of a South American parrot from the H5N1 avian-flu strain in a quarantine facility near London. A spokesman for the British environment ministry said today it's still unclear how a parrot imported from Suriname, in South America, died from the H5N1 avian-flu strain.
There have been no reports of the H5N1 strain in South America. The ministry's "working hypothesis" is that the parrot became infected while it was in a quarantine facility in Chelmsford, northeast of London, the ministry's chief veterinarian, Debby Reynolds, Ph.D., said earlier in a statement. The probable source, Dr. Reynolds said, is birds imported from Taiwan that shared the same airspace in the quarantine facility.____________________________________________
See Also:
Bird flu may have entered Britain earlier: report
Parrot quarantined next door to foot and mouth farm
Scientists still searching for source of Britain's first deadly bird flu case
Two consignments of birds, one warehouse, and a ticking clock
_____________________________________________
Taiwanese officials were quoted today as saying that the British government had already ruled out the birds from Taiwan, but the environment ministry spokesman said the matter is still under investigation.
It's also unclear how many birds from South America were infected; samples from two birds were pooled, leaving authorities unable to say for certain whether they both carried the virus, Dr. Reynolds said. Dr. Reynolds also said the practice of mingling birds from different parts of the world in the same quarantine area will be reviewed.
There are about 2,000 imported birds under 30-day quarantine in Britain. The environment ministry said none will be released until after a case-by-case assessment. Britain is officially free of avian flu and the current uproar doesn't change that status, Dr. Reynolds said.
However, other parts of Europe have already seen avian flu in both wild birds and poultry. The latest area hit is Croatia, which late last week reported that the virus had been found in dead swans.
British authorities said they had not seen the parrot's H5N1 strain before, but the closest match on file was found in ducks from China earlier this year.
Oct 24, 2005
