THE most virulent strain of killer avian flu was last night confirmed to have struck one of Britain’s biggest poultry producers.

Government officials disclosed that the infection, which killed 2,600 birds on a Bernard Matthews plant in Suffolk, was the “highly pathogenic” Asian strain of bird flu.

It is one of the biggest outbreaks of H5N1 in Europe and is the first case of the virus in farmed poultry in this country.

The virus, known as H5N1, has killed more than 160 people since 2003, mainly in Asia. But health officials emphasised that there was “negligible” risk to the public.

They have set up a six-mile protection zone around the infected farm and processing factory. All 159,000 turkeys are to be slaughtered using argon gas.

Up to 60 workers at the farm who came into contact with the poultry are being offered antiviral drugs. Employees were yesterday being treated at an emergency clinic in Halesworth, about one mile from the farm.

Birds started dying on the site on Tuesday. The death toll continued to climb on Wednesday and by Thursday evening, the company had alerted the state veterinary service.

The plant employs 1,400 people and includes a slaughter house, a processing factory and turkey-rearing sheds. It produces branded Bernard Matthews turkeys for supermarkets and a wide range of turkey products.

Fred Landeg, the government’s deputy chief veterinary officer, said the most likely source of the outbreak was wild birds. Vaccinations for poultry were not being considered, he said.

There is no evidence infected birds have entered the food chain and consumers were assured that “poultry is safe.”

The facts of the outbreak

What is H5N1?

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