THE STRAIN OF BIRD FLU FOUND ON A BRITISH FARM IN EASTERN ENGLAND IS H7, NOT THE LETHAL H5N1, AND TESTS SHOW THE VIRUS IS LOW PATHOGENICITY, OFFICIALS SAID ON FRIDAY, REUTERS PEPORTED. ONE FARM WORKER HAS CONTRACTED AN EYE INFECTION, CONJUNCTIVITIS, CAUSED BY THE VIRUS BUT BRITAIN'S HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY (HPA) SAID THE CHANCES OF IT SPREADING FROM HUMAN TO HUMAN WAS LOW. BRITAIN SAID ON THURSDAY A STRAIN OF THE VIRUS HAD BEEN FOUND ON A POULTRY FARM IN NORFOLK AND SAID IT WOULD START CULLING 35,000 BIRDS. NORFOLK IS HOME TO SOME OF EUROPE'S BIGGEST POULTRY FARMS AND BRITAIN'S CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER DEBBY REYNOLDS SAID A RESTRICTION ZONE OF ONE KILOMETRE HAD BEEN PUT IN PLACE AROUND THE INFECTED PREMISES. H7N3, THE STRAIN FOUND ON THE NORFOLK FARM, DOES NOT TRANSMIT EASILY FROM POULTRY TO PERSON OR FROM PERSON TO PERSON AND THE CHANCE OF IT SPREADING WAS LOW, THE HPA SAID. "IN ALMOST ALL CASES OF HUMAN H7 INFECTION TO DATE, THE VIRUS, IN BOTH LOW AND HIGH PATHOGENIC FORMS, HAS ONLY CAUSED A MILD DISEASE," IT SAID IN A STATEMENT. "THEREFORE IN THIS OUTBREAK THE RISK TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS EXTREMELY LIMITED." BRITAIN HAS BEEN ON HIGH ALERT FOR BIRD FLU SINCE IT DISCOVERED THE LETHAL H5N1 VIRUS IN A WILD SWAN IN SCOTLAND EARLIER THIS MONTH. THE SWAN WAS THE ONLY WILD BIRD FOUND IN BRITAIN SO FAR TO HAVE THE H5N1 VIRUS, WHICH HAS SPREAD FROM ASIA TO EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA, AND LED TO THE DEATH AND CULLING OF 200 MILLION BIRDS SINCE LATE 2003. H5N1 HAS INFECTED 204 PEOPLE AND KILLED 113 SINCE 2003. SCIENTISTS FEAR BIRD FLU COULD BECOME HIGHLY DANGEROUS TO HUMANS IF THE VIRUS MUTATES INTO A FORM EASILY PASSED ON FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER. -
