Parrot in British quarantine dies of bird flu

[poi_lover]

Ugh!

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/hea...icle321501.ece

[felisdomesticus]

scary. Makes me want to keep Scarlett in a bubbble.

[yehudasf]

BS"D

Sad though this is, it is nothing new, the parrot in question was being housed with a large consigment of Taiwanese birds. They are the origin, this poor south american parrot was just weak enough to be the first to die from the disease.

[Franciscus]

Did you notice this paragraph? "Earlier today the EU ordered restrictions on bird markets and shows and urged nations to present a programme of vaccination for zoo birds as part of increased measures to avert the spread of bird flu." Perhaps there is a vaccine available for pet birds, I'm going to check with my vet and if there is, my fids are getting inoculated for this thing.

[Franciscus]

I had another thought about this case. Perhaps this is going to help stop the barbaric act of importing wild caught parrots into Europe (including Great Britain). NINETY percent of the birds die between the time they are captured and when they reach their final destination, not to mention the extreme physical and emotional trauma these poor birds go through.

[felisdomesticus]

Britain: Bird Flu Is Deadly H5N1 Strain By MICHAEL McDONOUGH, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago



LONDON - The British government said Sunday that a strain of bird flu that killed a parrot in quarantine is the deadly H5N1 strain that has plagued Asia and recently spread to Europe.

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Scientists determined that the parrot, imported from South America, died of the strain of avian flu that has devastated poultry stocks and killed 61 people in Asia the past two years, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The virus is spread by migrating wild birds and has recently been found in birds in Russia, Turkey and Romania, spurring efforts around the globe to contain its spread.

While H5N1 is easily transmitted between birds, it is hard for humans to contract. But experts fear it could mutate into a form of flu that is easily transmitted between humans and cause a pandemic that could kill millions.

Debby Reynolds, DEFRA's chief veterinarian, said the parrot was likely infected with the virus while it was housed in the country's quarantine system with birds from Taiwan. Tests conducted on the Taiwanese birds that had died were inconclusive, according to the department.

DEFRA said the virus was most closely matched to a strain found in ducks in China earlier this year but was not very similar to strains discovered in Romania and Turkey. The genetic makeup of the virus changes slightly as it spreads, and scientists use such tests to track its migration across the world.

It was Britain's first confirmed case of bird flu since 1992.

Elsewhere, the Croatian government on Sunday promised to compensate villagers and farmers whose birds were slaughtered to prevent the spread of bird flu. About 10,000 domestic birds have been killed in an area near a national park where six swans were found to have been infected with the virus.

Damage from the culling was estimated at about $160,000. However, international bans on Croatian poultry exports could hurt farmers more. The European Commission on Friday said it was preparing a ban on all poultry imports from the country, while some individual European nations have already done so.

Medical experts detected the H5 virus in the swans Friday. Samples from the contaminated birds were then sent to a laboratory in Britain to establish whether they had the deadly H5N1 strain. Tests were also being done on samples from five other swans found dead Saturday morning near the park.

In related developments Sunday:

_Sweden said four ducks found dead in an area west of Stockholm Friday were infected with bird flu, but not the deadly H5N1 strain.

_Montenegro began testing its poultry for bird flu as a precaution after the disease was confirmed in neighboring Croatia. Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina also ordered cars to be disinfected at the Croatian border, and banned poultry imports from the country.

_The European Union said its bird flu experts will discuss a possible ban on imports of wild birds into the 25-nation bloc on Tuesday. The EU has so far resisted calls to ban all pet bird imports, fearing it could create a black market that could increase the threat of infected birds being smuggled in.

_Jordan and Israel agreed to limited cooperation to combat the possible spread of bird flu by monitoring people traveling across their shared border, the official Petra news agency reported. Neither country has had any cases of the virus.

_North Korea has launched a nationwide campaign to prevent a fresh outbreak of bird flu, strengthening quarantine and reporting systems and enhancing education of poultry farmers, a media report said. Earlier this year, North Korea culled about 210,000 chickens and other poultry after acknowledging its first bird flu outbreak in March. No new cases have since been reported.

• Colombia has decided to temporarily block imports of rice from Ecuador and Bolivia because of bird flu concerns, explaining that "migratory birds land in rice fields." Colombian authorities said on Oct. 10 they had detected three cases of bird flu, but not the deadly H5N1 strain. But Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela halted imports of poultry from Colombia in recent days.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051024/...he_me/bird_flu

[smallonion]

I am so worried about this - only because I am in Britain and hope to bring my dear parrot into the USA in the near future (maybe a year from now or so?) . I can now imagine them not allowing birds in from Britain. I will be heartbroken

[spectre]

Franciscus- It would be great. I often think the US tends to be short sighted and moronic in much of its dealings with the enivronment but parrots is one place the Europeans and Asians are the shortsighted ones. We had Bush Senior curtail this practice going on 12 years ago.

It would be fantastic to have a worldwide ban on the import of wild caught parrots followed by stiff criminal penalties for breaking it. I don't the details but I would find it hard to believe that there isn't a flourishing aviculture society in Europe which could provide for the desires of its citizens through captive born breeding programs. That should be a goal.

Smallonion-I think a quarantine exists anyways. You might consider sending your bird to friends here earlier if the possibility ever looms large, it would suck to give him up for a time but better than forever.

[smallonion]

Spectre - I think you have a point. I am going to research sending Humph before they ban imports from Britain. In any case I'll have to quarantine her at a government facility for 30 days...and you can't even visit your bird. Humphrey is cage-free and very attached to us - she'd be in a cage for 30 days without us. But she is a resilient little character. My mom and brother are bird lovers - my mom has Corbett the Amazon and my brother has Franklin the CAG. So it's something to think about. I don't want to run the risk that she will not be allowed in AT ALL.

[corbettsmom]

Of course, I would keep Humphry and love her as my own until smallonions comes home. Yes, she can come with me. I would rather have her come early then run the risk of not being able to enter.

Originally Posted by smallonion

Spectre - I think you have a point. I am going to research sending Humph before they ban imports from Britain. In any case I'll have to quarantine her at a government facility for 30 days...and you can't even visit your bird. Humphrey is cage-free and very attached to us - she'd be in a cage for 30 days without us. But she is a resilient little character. My mom and brother are bird lovers - my mom has Corbett the Amazon and my brother has Franklin the CAG. So it's something to think about. I don't want to run the risk that she will not be allowed in AT ALL.