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 07 September 2008 03:51 BST

Defra lifts bird flu restrictions

Friday, 09 Mar 2007 13:41
Restrictions were imposed on the Bernard Matthews farm on February 3rd
Restrictions imposed on the area around a Suffolk farm following an outbreak of bird flu should be lifted on Monday, the government has said.

A statement issued by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed that pending further tests over the weekend the special measures that have been in place since February 3rd would be rescinded.

The restriction zone and surveillance zone were designed to stop the spread of the H5N1 strand of the disease, which was detected in turkeys at a farm owned by the food company Bernard Matthews.

Defra confirmed in a recent statement to the House of Lords that the outbreak had been confined to the Holton farm.

"The fact that we have no evidence of this disease spreading outside of the infected premises is a testament to our emergency response planning and implementation," Ben Bradshaw, the animal health minister, said today.

"I would like to pay tribute to the dedication and professionalism of all of the public servants who have been involved."

The restrictions will be lifted at 00:01 GMT on Monday, subject to the outcome of this weekend's tests.

"Although this marks the end of our active disease control measures in the affected area, there is still much work to be done," chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds cautioned.

"We will continue to investigate the source of the virus introduction and endeavour to learn from this outbreak to help us prevent and manage similar situations in the future."

Suffolk county council has welcome the "tremendous news" and paid tribute to those involved in containing the disease.

"This is a major milestone for Suffolk and a tribute to the vigilance and commitment of local bird keepers, businesses, residents and all officers involved over the past few weeks," local county councillor Wendy Mawer said

"The impact of this disease on the community has been minimised by everyone pulling together, locally in Holton and Halesworth and across the whole of the wider restriction zone."

The human form of H5N1 has never been detected in the UK, but more than 250 people are thought to have contracted the disease worldwide and just this week it claimed the life of a 15-year-old girl in Laos.

It is thought humans only catch H5N1 after coming into close contact with infected birds and there is no conclusive evidence yet to suggest it can pass from human to human.End of story


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