H5N8 AVAIN FLU OUTBREAK CONFIRMED AT TURYKEY FARM IN ENGLAND|英火雞飼養場H5N8肆虐 5000家禽死亡

Throughout Europe, outbreaks of the H5N8 avian flu among poultry have been widely reported over the course of the past month, and the virus has now spread to the UK. On December 16th, UK officials confirmed that an incident of massive deaths at a Lincolnshire turkey farm was caused by the virus strain. While the risk of animal-to-human infection is still low at the moment, agricultural and public health experts remain vigilant. Public health officials have sealed off the turkey farm and placed strict control on the personnel entering or leaving the area. A protection zone with a radius of at least 3km and a surveillance zone with a radius of at least 10km around the infected holdings will be created to keep the birds from transmitting the disease to other farms. In 1983, H5N8 outbreaks killed over 300,000 poultry. Now the virus strain has made a comeback and was first detected in wild swans in Hungary this October. It then continues to devastate the poultry industry in neighboring Austria, Germany, and all the way to 14 other countries, including Switzerland, Polland, and France. In the Netherlands alone, over 190,000 ducks have been killed by the virus or culled. In the UK, a turkey farm in Lincolnshire reported large deaths of turkeys last week. H5N8 was later confirmed to be the culprit. ==DEREK GATHERER, Virologist== It's a major headache for the poultry industry, and we really do have to stop the disease spreading within the British poultry industry. ==NIGEL GIBBENS, UK Chief Veterinary Officer== This is the type of bird flu that we were concerned has been spreading across Europe. Public Health England has confirmed their advice that the risk of public health is very low. The Food Standards Agency maintained their advice that this bird flu does not present a risk to the food chain. According to British media reports, currently there's no evidence to suggest that H5N8 is completely free of human risks. Therefore, poultry farmers and public health officials must remain on high alert. TRANSLATED BY：CHRISTINA LIU 防疫人員在事發的火雞飼養場周圍，拉起封鎖線，嚴格管制人員車輛的進出。這是方圓3公里的保護隔離區，至於方圓10公里的範圍，則屬於監控警戒的區域。 曾經於1983年爆發流行的H5N8，當時就造成30萬隻以上的家禽死亡、或遭到撲殺。這次捲土重來，今年10月27號首度出現在匈牙利的野生天鵝身上，隨後就從鄰近的奧地利、德國，一路傳到瑞士、波蘭和法國等14個歐陸國家。其中光是荷蘭，死亡和遭到撲殺的鴨子就多達19萬隻。而英國東部的林肯郡，則是在上星期傳出，有火雞大量死亡，經證實就是H5N8禽流感病毒。 ==濾過性病毒專家 賈特爾== 這是家禽養殖業者最頭大的地方 我們必須阻止禽流感蔓延家禽業 ==家禽家畜疾病防治署署長 吉本斯== 讓我們擔憂的這型禽流感 已傳遍歐洲 公共衛生局證實 傳染給人的風險很低 食物標準局也認為 這次禽流感 不會威脅到食物鏈的安全 不過英國媒體的報導說，目前還沒有證據顯示，H5N8完全沒有人畜共通的疑慮。特別是頻繁接觸家禽的飼養業者和防疫人員，必須加強防範。 記者 綜合報導