DEFRA confirms a new case of bird flu found in wild mute swans
The UK's Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has reported a second case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza in wild birds. 
Photo: Philip MacKenzie
DEFRA has confirmed the disease in three dead wild mute swans found at a swannery on the south coast of England in the county of Dorset. It says the cases were discovered through the routine surveillance program for the condition, and a full epidemiological investigation is under way. Mute swans are not understood to be migratory birds, so they are unlikely to be the source of the infection. The disease was last confirmed in a wild swan at Cellardyke on the east coast of Scotland in April 2006. There were two cases identified in commercial poultry flocks in 2007. These both occurred on the east coast of England in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.
The department has established a 20-mile radius wild-bird-control area and a 15-mile monitoring area around the affected premises, the Abbotsbury Swannery. Commercial flocks are required to be housed, and domestic bird movements and gatherings are restricted. "This is obviously unwelcome news," commented acting chief vet Fred Landeg, "but we have always said that Britain is at a constant low level risk of the introduction of avian influenza. All bird keepers must continue to be vigilant and practise the highest levels of biosecurity."
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