Poultry firm calls for bird flu vaccinations
A poultry producer who has lost 100,000 birds to avian flu said vaccination was “the only solution” to the outbreak.
Great Britain has been declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) following measures in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex last month.
Mark Gorton, managing director of Traditional Norfolk Poultry, said this strain of flu was “extremely virulent and infectious”.
The UK’s deputy chief veterinary officer, Richard Irvine, said: “Vaccination is not part of the disease policy and approach.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said this was Britain’s largest ever bird flu outbreak.
Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex have had a spike in cases, with Norfolk the hardest hit, having at least 32 cases this month.
Within the county, the highest density was in the Attleborough area, which recorded 12 cases as of Thursday last week.
Six of the outbreaks in Norfolk were on chicken and turkey farms run by Mr Gorton.
He said he lost 100,000 birds, which is 10% of his stock.
“We’ve never known it as bad as this… we just don’t seem to be able to get it under control,” he said.
Mr Gorton said avian flu would “normally die out over the summer but it’s actually getting worse”.