Is this not lovely?

Here I am in the UK....and this is what I see in my e-mail this morning:

Worldcue® Alert
Severity: Informational Alert
Health: U.K. officials Nov. 12 confirm H5 avian influenza on turkey farm in Diss on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Risk to humans extremely low.

This alert affects United Kingdom.

This alert began 12 Nov 2007 19:54 GMT and is scheduled to expire 11 Dec 2007 23:59 GMT.

Current Situation
U.K. officials Nov. 12 confirmed that H5 avian influenza had infected birds at a turkey farm near the town of Diss on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Authorities will cull the approximately 5,000 turkeys, geese and ducks on the farm, as well as domestic birds within 3 km. Government veterinarians do not yet know whether the virus is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has spread throughout Asia, but that information should be available within days. The source of the H5 virus is unknown.

Officials immediately imposed movement restrictions on the farm and have established a 10-km surveillance zone, in which authorities will restrict movements of poultry and farm vehicles and monitor for more bird infections.

Background
In February 2007, the U.K. reported its first outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among poultry on a Bernard Matthews turkey farm near Lowestoft, Suffolk, approximately 50 km (30 miles) east of the current outbreak. Bernard Matthews representatives say the company is not associated with the currently infected farm, and owns no farms within the surveillance zone. The source of the February outbreak was likely commercial poultry trade with Hungary. Doctors identified no human infections associated with that outbreak.

In March 2006, authorities found a wild swan on the coast of Scotland infected with H5N1.


AdviceThe risk of contracting avian influenza in the U.K. is exceedingly low. However, if you are in the area of the infected farm, avoid contact with surfaces or objects contaminated by bird droppings.