they developed immunity to the deadly H5N1 virus

A few months ago you may have read about the outbreak of the bird flu disease in a colony of swans based at Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset. The swans which had been bred at this beautiful location for over 600 years looked like they were in serious trouble and there were even suggestions that all of the swans would have to be put down. To add to their misery a flood also appeared in March which washed away around 80 of the swan nests.

The good news however is that despite these tragedies the colony is now bird flu free and to add to the good news they have come back from their worst crisis with a record number of cygnet [baby swan] births.

Scientists are speculating that the reason that many of the swans at the Abbotsbury Swannery survived is that they developed immunity to the deadly H5N1 virus. It is estimated that around 1,000 eggs have been hatched which is an extremely large number for the colony. The supporters of Abbotsbury Swannery say that this is nature’s way of fighting back to preserve the world’s oldest swan sanctuary.

It has been an extremely stressful time for the monks who look after the swans at the Abbotsbury Swannery but the future is now looking bright. At the time of the bird flu outbreak anyone who had come in contact with the swans was given the bird flu medication Tamiflu to protect them against infection.

Contracting the H5N1 bird flu virus in humans is extremely rare but it does happen and is usually deadly when it does. In the Far East around 200 people have already been killed from maintaining close contact with infected birds. The people who have survived the virus are those who tend to be given Tamiflu within the first 24 hours of symptoms appearing.