The first case of an avian flu infection occured recently on a UK commercial farm.  The avian flu which killed 2,600 turkeys at a Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk has been confirmed as the Asian strain of the H5N1 virus.

The virus can be fatal if it is passed on to humans but experts said the outbreak was being contained and posed little danger to people's health.

The Veterinary Laboratories Agency carried out the tests which confirmed the outbreak in Holton.

As a result of the outbreak, the slaughter of nearly 160,000 turkeys has begun at the farm as a precaution.  The strain of the H5N1 virus has killed 164 people worldwide - mainly in south-east Asia - since 2003.  However, the virus is not thought to be able to pass easily from human to human at present.

A spokesman for Bernard Matthews, which runs the farm in Holton, said none of the affected birds had entered the food chain and there was no risk to public health.  So far, all those who have been infected worldwide have come into intimate contact with infected birds.

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