ross
21-10-2005, 11:06 PM
Avian flu found in parrot in UK
A parrot that died in quarantine in the UK has tested positive for avian flu, the government has said.
A highly pathogenic H5 strain of the disease has been found, but it is not known if it is the H5N1 variant which has killed at least 60 people in Asia.
Because the bird - imported from south America - was in quarantine, the UK's disease-free status is not affected.
So far bird flu - in some cases the H5N1 strain - has been found in Europe in Romania, Turkey and Greece.
It is thought it was carried to those countries by wild birds migrating from Asia. The parrot - which was being held in a bio-secure unit at an undisclosed location - is the first confirmed case of avian flu in Britain since 1992.
A parrot that died in quarantine in the UK has tested positive for avian flu, the government has said.
A highly pathogenic H5 strain of the disease has been found, but it is not known if it is the H5N1 variant which has killed at least 60 people in Asia.
Because the bird - imported from south America - was in quarantine, the UK's disease-free status is not affected.
So far bird flu - in some cases the H5N1 strain - has been found in Europe in Romania, Turkey and Greece.
It is thought it was carried to those countries by wild birds migrating from Asia. The parrot - which was being held in a bio-secure unit at an undisclosed location - is the first confirmed case of avian flu in Britain since 1992.