[The 2,600 eight weeks old turkeys had no exposure to outside elements as they had been raised entirely indoors.]
Hunt on for virus source
By Sarah Johnson
THE OUTBREAK of the deadly H5N1 strain of Bird Flu at a Bernard Matthews poultry farm in Suffolk has baffled scientists.
Unlike previous outbreaks elsewhere in the world — where wild birds have spread the virus — experts are mystified how 2600 turkeys were infected by the disease.
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Andre Farrar, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said the outbreak is less likely to have been caused by wildfowl this year, although it could not be ruled out.
“This outbreak follows a totally different pattern to the past,” explained Mr Farrar. “There have been no reported outbreaks in wild birds in Europe or the UK, unlike last year.
Mr Farrar continued, “In fact die-offs in wild birds have been at a low ebb.
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“And we’re not in the middle of what’s considered to be a major migrating period now. The autumn migration has been over for weeks.”
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