There are no restrictions on individuals buying their own supplies of Tamiflu

Following on from the discovery that there were three and then four swans infected with the bird flu virus in the UK it now appears that a fifth swan is also infected. The news was announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A 3 km control zone and a 10km monitoring zone have been set up already around the Abbottsbury Swannery in line with proper procedure to stop the virus spreading further.

The government has initiated plans to test hundreds of swans around the United Kingdom and the government Chief Veterinary Officer said that bird keepers and the public must keep a watch out for dead birds which could be carrying the bird flu virus.

The Abbottsbury Swannery is a busy tourist attraction which is the worlds only managed colony of mute swans and has an impressive history being founded by a group of Benedictine monks as way back as the eleventh century. The swans in this unique swannery have not all been culled but they are being tested and being isolated from contact with other birds.

In the meantime the UK government announced that it has stockpiles of the free drug Tamiflu which should be enough for about 25 percent of the population and this would be handed out to those people who needed it the most. There are plans to increase this stockpile so that 50 percent of the UK population would be able to place their hands on Tamiflu. There are no restrictions on individuals buying their own supplies of Tamiflu and thousands of families all over the United Kingdom have done so already.

Birds flu experts say that should a pandemic break out in the United Kingdom it will be important that people do not panic and obey instructions given out by health authorities.  Doctors and nurses and other people working with the sick will be first in line to get the Tamiflu influenza drug.