This article is from page 34 of the 2008-01-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 34 JPG
IRISH farmers have been told to re- main vigilant following the discov- ery of a fourth swan infected with bird flu in England on Thursday.
IFA National Poultry Committee Chairman Ned Morrissey said last week that reports of the bird flu in England reinforces the need for poultry growers here to maintain the highest levels of vigilance.
‘Producers here have implemented extra measures such as the installa- tion of water chlorination systems to ensure the health status of their flocks is protected,’ he said.
“Flock owners are safeguarding
their domestic flocks by having the highest levels of bio-security meas- ures in place, to avoid any exposure to wild birds.
“Poultry producers meet the high- est veterinary standards at all times, and are particularly vigilant at the moment to protect the health of their flocks.”
The new outbreak has renewed calls for the routine vaccination of all free-range, organic and hobby birds in the UK against the deadly flu virus.
The Elm Farm Organic Research Centre has been campaigning for such a preventive strategy for more than two years. The Defra institute
has a stock of 10 million does of vac- cine but so far they have been offered only for use to save rare birds and collections in zoos.
Richard Sanders, senior policy re- Searcher at the centre, said the latest outbreak at Abbotsbury was now “a trigger point” and gave a definite in- dication the virus was circulating in wild birds.
Sanders has urged Defra to release its stocks of HSNI1 vaccine to start an orderly programme of preventive acer eeeloele
However, a spokesperson from the British Department of Agriculture siad late last week that there was, as yet, no evidence of a large infection.
‘There is currently no evidence to Suggest widespread disease in the wild bird population but enhanced surveillance is taking place and poultry keepers in the area are re- minded to remain vigilant,” said her spokesperson.
Britain’s first case of the strain was in a wild swan found dead in Cel- lardyke in Scotland in 2006 and there have subsequently been outbreaks at poultry farms in eastern England, most recently in November 2007.
The virulent HSN1 strain has killed more than 210 people worldwide since 2003 and millions of birds had either died from it or been killed to prevent its spread.