very efficient culling of birds and strict adherence to rules

Following on from the Ukmedix News story regarding an outbreak of the bird flu virus in Oxfordshire the good news is that due to a report from Defra the area has been given the all clear and the surveillance and protections zones have been lifted.

Over 25,000 birds had to be killed after the emergence of the disease which in fact was the H7 version of the disease which is slightly less deadly than the H5N1 virus. It is less deadly in that it does not kill birds quite so quickly and is less harmful for humans but nevertheless should not be underestimated as a serious health hazard.

What was made apparent by this case was that by putting in 3km protection zones and ten km surveillance zones the chances of the disease spreading are greatly reduced. This outbreak has been successfully contained and there is no evidence that any of the sick birds passed on their infections to wild birds which could have taken the disease to different parts of the country.

This is in contrast to many third world countries where enforcement of correct health practices after a bird flu outbreak are lax and thus the disease spreads very quickly to many different regions. It is clear that in Europe for example whenever there has been a bird flu outbreak it has been stopped in its tracks extremely quickly by very efficient culling of birds and strict adherence to rules.

Another thing to bear in mind is that farmers in third world countries often depend completely for their livelihoods on poultry and thus if their farms get infected they are extremely reluctant to report. While farmers in the United Kingdom are hit hard too financially by bird flu outbreaks they are likely to be insured which will take some of the financial burden off them.

A number of individuals who had had close contact with the birds at this Oxfordshire farm were given the influenza medication Tamiflu as a precaution just to be on the safe side.