UK bird flu 'came from Hungary'

2007-02-09 19:16

London - The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu that infected a turkey farm in Britain probably originated in Hungary rather than from a migratory bird, said a senior official on Friday.

Environment ministry official Fred Landeg told GMTV that it was even possible that the farm in Suffolk, eastern England, owned by Bernard Matthews was infected by products imported from businesses he owns in Hungary.

"We had evidence yesterday (on Thursday) and advice from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency that from the work that they have carried out so far the virus appears to be almost identical, may well be identical, to the Hungary virus," he said.

"That means that the virus has probably come directly from Hungary to the UK and not via migratory birds," added Landeg, the environment ministry's deputy chief veterinary officer.

Landeg had initially suggested that the outbreak may have been caused by a migratory bird.

The strain of avian flu was detected among geese in Hungary last month, the first such outbreak within the European Union since mid-2006.

Case under investigation

The Times and the Daily Mail reported meanwhile that the Matthews firm transported turkey meat from an avian flu exclusion zone in Hungary, imposed following the outbreak, to the company's farm in Suffolk, east of London.

"We are investigating the possibility of a number of serious breaches," an unidentified official source told the Daily Mail.

A spokesperson for the British agriculture ministry said: "The investigation is still ongoing as we are looking at the link between the lorries that were travelling from Suffolk and Hungary."

The spokesperson for the agriculture ministry said earlier that 38 tons of poultry were transported between the two sites each week.

The authorities culled up to 160 000 turkeys by Monday to fight its first mass outbreak of Asian-type H5N1 bird flu, which occurred on a farm in Suffolk owned by Matthews, the biggest poultry producer in Europe.

- AFP