Deadly Bird Flu Strain Found in UK Wild Fowl

From Bloomberg:

"The deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza was detected in three dead swans in southwest England, the U.K. environment ministry said.

The outbreak in the Chesil Beach area of Dorset is the first of the year and only the fourth time the H5N1 strain has been detected in the U.K. The beach is near Abbotsbury Swannery, a colony of nesting mute swans. The ministry didn't say if the dead birds were found there.

"No disease has been found in domestic birds, and a program of surveillance is being carried out in the local wild bird population,'' the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today in an e-mailed statement. "There will be no culling of wild birds because such action may disperse birds further and would not aid control."

The H5N1 strain of bird flu can be lethal in humans, and 216 of the 348 people who have contracted the illness since 2003 have died, according to Jan. 3 World Health Organization figures.

The ministry set up a 3-kilometer (2-mile) control area and a 10-kilometer monitoring area around the site, banning gatherings of domestic birds and requiring bird-keepers to house their fowl and isolate them from wild birds. The telephone line for John Houston, general manager of the swannery, was busy.

The strain of bird flu has previously only been found once in wild birds in Britain, when a single dead swan was found in Scotland in April 2006. Since then, there have been outbreaks at poultry farms in Suffolk, eastern England, in February and November last year, leading to the culling of thousands of domestic birds."

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So High-Path H5N1 is now hitting wild fowl in the UK... This is a fantastically doom-ridden news piece!

Weeee!

Bird Flu Survival Gear -- My Picks!

Welcome to my Official Guide to Surviving a global Avian Influenza Pandemic Scenario. First of, these items are very good things to have:



<--- You'll want a half-face respirator, the 3M one's are very stylish and affordable. Don't forget extra filter cartridges!.


Ok, your respiratory system is safe, but you're going to want to stock up on OTC medications. You even get Mucuous Release Tablets.

If you do get a chest cold you'll need something to calm that cough, as well as something to loosen congestion.

NOW!

You need to get a whole bunch of microfiber pads to clean your equipment with. Don't forget about guns, ammunition and little things you can turn into booby traps.

Try to keep your pets indoors as much as possible. Minimize contact with central hubs of meeting and transit.

Make sure you have at least 3 months of food in the household. It is absolutely essential to have a shortwave radio on hand as well.







DURING...

Stay the fuck out of a hospital - unless you are a doctor - then remain in the hospital and never leave.

After a certain point there will be large abandoned warehouses that are no longer watched over by the authorities. It will be 21st century hoovervilles.

If you are connected to the internet, run any and all distributed computing projects that deal with finding a cure or vaccine for H5N1.


AFTER:

It is estimated that any vaccine against the human-to-human strain of H5N1 will take 6 to 8 months to develop - starting at the time of first outbreak.

If you are still alive then, go to public health and get your shot. Welcome back to civilization!