Britain: Scientists revealed last night that a parrot that died in UK quarantine last week had the feared H5N1 strain but British ministers had been considering suspending imports of birds for collectors, exhibitors and pet lovers long before confirmation that the parrot had avian flu.
Investigations are under way as to how the bird contracted the disease. Authorities in Surinam, South America, believe it caught the virus from birds in a consignment from Taiwan sharing quarantine facilities. More than 360 birds were culled and antiviral treatment offered to fewer than 10 people said to have been in close contact with the birds during quarantine or culling.
Vets for the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) say the virus was of the H5 group and "highly pathogenic", therefore likely to cause disease in other birds, but health officials say the bird has an avian and not a human flu.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds suggests about 83,000 exotic birds were imported into Britain in 2003, three times the figure of 2001. Germany is among member countries that will back Britain and a ban could be imposed within days, although concerns have been raised over how to prevent illegal trade.
Patricia Hewitt, the UK health secretary, said yesterday the government would not yet back bringing all poultry indoors as other countries, including Poland and Germany, have done.
"Our veterinary experts have looked at the migration paths [ of wild birds] for instance. They have looked at the risk and they have decided that would not at this point be a proportionate response," she told ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme.
But she said the issue of producing generic antiviral drugs and bypassing patents owned by Roche for Tamiflu, the main antiviral being stockpiled, needed to be discussed.
"We've got to look at the whole issue of the developing countries where, frankly, a pandemic flu is more likely to break out," Ms Hewitt added.
Rosie Winterton, a health minister, is travelling to Ottawa, Canada, today where there may be calls for countries with large stockpiles of the drug to donate some to developing countries. Drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline is expected to announce this week that it could produce millions of doses of vaccine within four months of a pandemic.
The government has already announced "sleeping contracts" will be made with companies that can meet demand once any strain that might mutate from bird flu has been identified.
Scientists from the Medical Research Council flew to Vietnam and China over the weekend to assess the impact of avian flu there and how surveillance, especially of human health, could be improved.
Surinam's chief vet, Edmond Rozenblad, told the Associated Press that the parrot that died in British quarantine was healthy when it was sent by a local wildlife exporter.
"We have been conducting rigorous testing because of the outbreak of the disease around the world and if it came from Surinam, other birds that we shipped would have died or been infected."
Taiwan said last week it had found birds infected with H5N1 flu in a container smuggled from China, its first case since 2003.
Tests on ducks found dead in Sweden over the weekend revealed they had only been carrying a low pathogenic form of virus. Avian viruses were often found in wild ducks, the Swedish board of agriculture said. It has already recommended poultry farms bring birds inside or feed them in protected areas.
- (Guardian service)