Bird flu strain killed parrot in London
Published 9:00 pm Sunday, October 23, 2005
LONDON – The British government said Sunday that a strain of bird flu that killed a parrot in quarantine is the deadly H5N1 strain that has plagued Asia and recently spread to Europe.
Scientists determined that the parrot, imported from South America, died of the strain of avian flu that has devastated poultry stocks and killed 61 people in Asia the past two years, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The virus is spread by migrating wild birds and has recently been found in birds in Russia, Turkey and Romania, spurring efforts around the globe to contain its spread.
The European Union said its bird flu experts will discuss a possible ban on imports of wild birds into the 25-nation bloc on Tuesday. The EU has so far resisted calls to ban all pet bird imports, fearing it could create a black market that could increase the threat of infected birds being smuggled in.
While H5N1 is easily transmitted between birds, it is hard for humans to contract. But experts fear it could mutate into a form of flu that is easily transmitted among humans and cause a pandemic that could kill millions.
Debby Reynolds, the government agency’s chief veterinarian, said the parrot was likely infected with the virus while it was housed in the country’s quarantine system with birds from Taiwan. Tests conducted on the Taiwanese birds that had died were inconclusive, according to the department.
It was Britain’s first confirmed case of bird flu since 1992.
Elsewhere, the Croatian government on Sunday promised to compensate villagers and farmers whose birds were slaughtered to prevent the spread of bird flu. About 10,000 domestic birds have been killed in an area near a national park where six swans were found to have been infected with the virus.
Damage from the culling was estimated at about $160,000.
Associated Press
Filipino children pet a fighting cock at a Manila slum on Sunday. The Philippines is among the few Asian countries still not hit by the deadly bird flu virus.
