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New bird flu fears as virus found in dead swans


Jo Revill, Observer chief Whitehall correspondent
Thursday January 10, 2008
Guardian Unlimited


Abbotsbury Swannery, in Dorset. Photograph: David Mansell



Three dead swans found on a nature reserve in Dorset were today found to have been carrying the lethal strain of bird flu, sparking fears that the virus had again landed on Britain's shores.
Urgent tests were under way to check the other birds and ducks at the swannery in Abbotsbury, where the dead mute swans were found in the past 48 hours.

The department for the environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) was expected to issue a statement later this today to confirm that the H5N1 strain had been found in the birds.


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The latest cases, coming after an outbreak at the Bernard Matthews factory in Suffolk last year, will particularly worry experts because the pattern suggests the infection may have come from wild birds.
In previous cases, human errors such as contaminated transport or feed were found to have caused outbreaks of the disease in birds.

The mute swans had not migrated into Britain - when they do fly, they normally travel very short distances. It appears likely they caught the virus from other wild birds or ducks that came into the swannery for the winter months.

Tests being carried out at government laboratories will reveal whether the birds had a highly dangerous form of the virus, categorised as "low pathogen" or "high pathogen".

Bird flu currently remains a disease that affects poultry, but there are fears that, if it mutates, it could turn into a form that is highly contagious to human beings, and form a flu pandemic.

The Abbotsbury swannery is a highly popular visitor attraction in the summer, and was originally set up during the 1040s by monks in Dorset who regarded swan meat as a great delicacy.

Close to the south Dorset shore, it consists of different pools in which swans can feed and breed. From mid-May to late June, hundreds of fluffy cygnets hatch from eggs in nests on or near the pathways.

No big deal this.  What would be news is if there are more reports of dead birds and there was evidence of it being widespread in the bird population.

TWO more dead swans have been found along the Fleet amid a bird flu alert.

But staff at Abbotsbury Swannery say there is no cause for alarm.

Three swans there tested positive for the H5N1 strain yesterday.

Abbotsbury Tourism general manager John Houston said an average of 20 to 30 swans usually die at the swannery every January.

He said: "It's not unusual for birds to die in the winter of natural causes.

"In fact, there are less dying at the moment than normal because it's quite warm.

"Until I hear otherwise I am going to assume the best."

The animals were collected by Defra today and taken for testing at the department's lab in Taunton.

The result should be known at the end of the weekend.

The swannery will be given the all-clear after 21 days if no birds have tested positive for the virus.