Fears grow that gulls will spread bird flu far and wide
Pastor Dale Morgan
Fears grow that gulls will spread bird flu far and wide*
By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:27am GMT 18/02/2007
UK - Health officials are urgently investigating fears that the disposal
of contaminated waste from the Bernard Matthews plant at the centre of
the bird flu outbreak may have allowed the virus to spread to other
parts of the country.
Gulls at a landfill, which could spread the bird flu virus
Landfill sites are a haven for scavengers. If waste from the infected
plant was dumped illegally, the virus might be spread by wild birds
Experts fear that meat and packaging contaminated with the deadly H5N1
bird flu virus from the Bernard Matthews processing plant at Holton,
Suffolk, may have found its way on to landfill sites, where wild birds
might become infected. Meat carrying the virus could also have been used
to make pet food, increasing the risk of the disease's spread.
Bernard Matthews has disclosed that sales of the company's products have
slumped by 40 per cent since the outbreak was discovered almost three
weeks ago.
A report into the source of the outbreak has said that the most likely
route for the infection was from contaminated meat imported from Hungary
to the company's processing plant next door to the infected turkey farm.
The report states that waste meat trimmings were left in open bins
outside the plant, where flocks of gulls were seen picking through
scraps. It is believed the gulls carried the virus to their roosts on
top of the turkey sheds on the farm, passing the infection to the birds
inside.
Neither Bernard Matthews nor Government officials investigating the
outbreak have been able to say where or how the remaining waste from the
bins was disposed of.
It is illegal to dump raw meat on landfill sites and, by law, it must be
incinerated or treated by approved waste-disposal companies. Bernard
Matthews has insisted that its disposal complied with regulations. But a
spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) said that investigators were looking at the possibility that the
virus was spread to other areas when the waste was moved.
It has also stepped up surveillance of gulls and other wild birds at
local landfill sites. Bird experts have visited a site less than six
miles from the Holton plant to examine the bird population there,
although no signs of bird flu infection have so far been found.
Animal health specialists are alarmed at the possibility that
contaminated meat might have found its way on to landfill sites, which
are a haven for scavenging birds.
Colin Butter, a bird flu expert at the Institute of Animal Health, said:
"The virus could survive for several days and even weeks in cold, damp
conditions.
"The disposal of any waste from this plant is of concern. We need to
know if the virus has got into the gull population, as there is the risk
they could infect other birds and spread the virus further."
Under regulations governing the disposal of animal by-products, the
waste could also have been used to make pet food.
A spokesman for Bernard Matthews insisted yesterday that waste disposal
normally complied with regulations but conceded that he could not
confirm how waste in bins from the time of the outbreak had been
disposed of.
Sales of some products had suffered since the outbreak began, he said.
"This drop could be due to a variety of reasons, including
supply-chain interruption, bad weather and school half-term, as well as
the ongoing situation."
Bernard Matthews may already be facing prosecution for a series of
failures at its plant. Animal by-product legislation allows for fines or
up to two years in prison for company officers.
Joint reports by Defra, the Food Standards Agency and the Meat Hygiene
Service identified several spots where birds and rodents might have
entered the infected shed. They also detail leaks from the shed roof
that "could allow transfer of infection".
A spokesman for Defra confirmed that the department was investigating
the risk of the plant's waste spreading the virus to other parts of the
country. She said: "The epidemiological investigation is ongoing.
Investigations are naturally concerned with the possible transmission of
infection to other premises. During the investigation for the Suffolk
outbreak, ornithologists visited the only landfill site in the
surveillance zone at Wangford Common, which is almost due east of the
infected premises. At this site there was very good bird control,
normally via falconry.
"There have been no positive results of H5N1 avian influenza in wild
birds to date."
Bernard Matthews is the UK's biggest turkey processor and operates 57
farms in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. Started in the early 1950s
with just 12 birds, the business has grown to an annual turnover of £450
million. It employs more than 6,300 staff and has its own aviation wing,
operating private jets. In 2001 the business reverted to being private
and family-run after nearly 30 years as a public company.
Although still chairman at the age of 77, Bernard Matthews has passed
much of the hands-on operation to the company directors. David Joll, 58,
the managing director, has been a vital figure in the business's
success. He owns a small stake in the company and is thought the most
likely successor to Mr Matthews.