# 401
In a scene somewhat reminiscent of a 1930’s locked room murder mystery, authorities are apparently baffled as to how the H5N1 virus managed to get inside a bio-secure turkey shed and infect thousands of poults in Suffolk, UK.
Routine surveillance by DEFRA has apparently not picked up any occurrence of the disease in wild birds in the UK, and no other farms have reported die offs of poultry. These poults, reportedly 8 weeks old, had been raised entirely indoors, and had no exposure to outside elements. A mystery, indeed.
This from the Sunday Post.
Hunt on for virus source
By Sarah Johnson
THE outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of Bird Flu at a Bernard Matthews poultry farm in Suffolk has baffled scientists.
Unlike previous outbreaks elsewhere in the world — where wild birds have spread the virus — experts are mystified how 2600 turkeys were infected by the disease.
Yesterday all 159,000 turkeys at the poultry farm were condemned to death after the EU Commission confirmed the first outbreak of H5N1 in Britain.
Tests for the dangerous form of avian flu were carried out at the European Union laboratory in Weybridge and last night it was confirmed to be the Asian strain of the virus.
Poultry farmers have been urged to step up their bio security procedures.
Less likely
Andre Farrar, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said the outbreak is less likely to have been caused by wildfowl this year, although it could not be ruled out.
“This outbreak follows a totally different pattern to the past,” explained Mr Farrar. “There have been no reported outbreaks in wild birds in Europe or the UK, unlike last year.
Mr Farrar continued, “In fact die-offs in wild birds have been at a low ebb.
“Last year, when we had cases in wild birds, there had been a lot of birds moving out of central Europe because of an extremely cold snap. All the water levels were freezing and the birds wanted to move out of that.
“They struggled to feed and, like humans, when they are stressed and tired they become more likely to succumb to the virus.
“But movement hasn’t been as prolific as we saw last February. This latest outbreak doesn’t fit with wild bird movement.
Migration
“And we’re not in the middle of what’s considered to be a major migrating period now. The autumn migration has been over for weeks.
“One school of thought is that the movement of wild birds spreads the virus but that’s a narrow perspective.
“For example, in South-east Asia an outbreak was due to a lack of bio-security, exposing poultry to external risk. The trade in wild birds was also believed to pose a risk but it has since been banned by the EU.
“We’re in between migration periods and although birds can move ahead of the season if they are cold, this winter has been mild giving them no reason to.”
Thus far, authorities are looking first at the usual suspects. Migratory birds. Suspecting that a lone infected bird somehow managed to find its way into the ventilating shaft of that turkey farm and infect the flock.
Possible, I suppose.
But presumably they are looking at other vectors as well. Over the past few months, other possible mammalian vectors have been in the news. Dogs, cats, and even rodents have been mentioned.
It may take some time to narrow this down, and admittedly we may never have a definitive answer.
Where is Miss Marple when we really need her?
