'No reason to worry' for staff at centre of bird flu outbreak

A WORKER at the reserve where three wild swans have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu said today that there was "no reason to worry" as staff began a course of drugs as a precaution.

Restrictions on the movement of captive birds are in place following the discovery of the dead swans at the Abbotsbury Swannery, an open reserve in the Chesil Beach area of Dorset, during routine surveillance. Two more dead swans were found along the Fleet last night but Abbotsbury Tourism Ltd general manager John Houston said this was nothing unusual.

They will be collected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and sent for routine testing, but the results are not expected to be known for around two days.

Twelve members of staff at the swannery are getting a basic flu jab today. They have already begun a ten-day course of Tamiflu tablets.

They include three full-time workers – swan herder David Wheeler and his assistants. "There's no reason to worry," he said.

Defra has set up control and monitoring areas around the site to contain the outbreak. Severe movement restrictions apply within the zones.