5:55pm Monday 12th November 2007
Government vets have confirmed an outbreak of bid flu at a turkey farm in Diss, Norfolk.
Preliminary tests showed the turkeys had the H5 strain of bird flu, but it is not yet known whether it is a highly pathogenic form of the disease.
All 5,000 birds are being slaughtered at the premises, which has ducks and geese as well as turkeys, Defra said.
Deputy chief veterinary officer Fred Landeg said the cause of the infection was not known at the moment and he urged all poultry farmers to remain vigilant.
He said: "Everybody needs to be concerned, this is avian influenza.
"We are asking every poultry keeper to be vigilant, to house their birds where they are required to do so in any restricted area and carry out good bio-security measures and report any signs of disease."
Dr Landeg stressed that the epidemiological investigation into the outbreak, which is at a rearing unit, would try to establish its origin but that it was still at a very early stage.
He said: "We will be looking at the movements on to the premises and off the premises of birds and movements of people, vehicles and things, to see whether there is another origin somewhere in the country or whether the disease could have spread.
"It does however appear to be early disease from the acute phase but how long the disease has been present on the premises we will need to establish as part of the epidemiological investigation."
Officers from the Animal Health agency would be visiting the farms within the protection zone to inspect their birds and see if they are also affected, he continued.
He also reassured the public that they were not at risk of infection from eating poultry meat and eggs as long as they were cooked properly.
He said: "It is very difficult to transmit avian influenza from birds to human beings. There has to be fairly close contact with the birds and with their faeces.
"I think we should also reassure everybody that if poultry and eggs are properly cooked, the Food Standards Agency says there is no risk to public health."
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