British H5N1 may be 'identical' to Hungarian: government
Posted: 09 February 2007 0658 hrs

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LONDON - The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu found in turkeys in Britain last week "may well be identical" to the virus found in wild geese in Hungary, British officials said on Thursday.

According to a government vet, that raises the possibility that the infection of the British turkeys on the farm in Holton, Suffolk, occurred via poultry imported from Hungary.

The agriculture ministry also confirmed that three adjacent poultry houses, all part of the farm run by Bernard Matthews, Europe's biggest turkey producer, were infected with avian flu.

"The government is developing its investigation into what might have caused the outbreak of avian influenza in the Suffolk poultry farm, following preliminary scientific tests showing the viruses in Suffolk and recent outbreaks in Hungary may well be identical," a spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said.

Meanwhile Fred Landeg, the government's deputy chief vet, said that investigations had shown that "one possible route of infection is poultry product imported from Hungary."

"It is important that this is investigated thoroughly, along with all the other possible routes," Landeg said, adding that Bernard Matthews had voluntarily agreed to temporarily suspend the movement of its poultry products between their British and Hungarian outlets until the inquiry was finished.

A spokeswoman for the agriculture ministry also told AFP that initial tests had showed that birds in three other houses within the Bernard Matthews farm in Holton were found to have avian influenza.

Asked about a report in The Observer weekly newspaper that said that a consignment of dead turkeys from Bernard Matthews's plant in Hungary may have been the cause for the outbreak in Holton, the spokeswoman noted that 38 tonnes of partly-processed turkey were transported between the two plants each week, and reiterated that an investigation were ongoing.

Asian strain H5N1 -- which has caused the deaths of more than 160 people across the world since 2003 -- was confirmed at the farm on Saturday. - AFP /ls