H5 Confirmed in Norfolk England
Recombinomics Commentary
November 12, 2007
Thousands of turkeys are due to be slaughtered after an outbreak of bird flu at a farm in Diss, Norfolk.
Some 5,000 birds are expected to be culled after the H5 strain of the virus was discovered at the premises.
The above comments suggest that H5N1 has re-emerged in England. Although H5N1 has not been confirmed in the above report, the size of the cull and the establishment of an exclusion zone suggest the H5 will be the Qinghai (clade 2.2) strain of H5N1. Media reports indicate the farm has turkeys, ducks, and geese, further establishing a link with wild birds.
Over the summer H5N1 was widely reported in wild birds in Germany, and to a lesser extent in adjacent regions in France and the Czech Republic.
The data suggested H5N1 had become endemic in Europe, and new outbreaks would be reported in the fall.
More detail on the H5 confirmed in England would be useful.
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