BBC News Online: UK

Britain warns of killer 'bird flu'

The Chief Medical Officer, Kenneth Calman has written to all doctors informing them of the virus which originated in chickens.

There are no reported cases of bird flu in Britain. But it has already killed two people in Hong Kong where a total of seven cases have been identified.

It first appeared in Hong Kong in May when a three-year-old boy died. Tests revealed it was a strain previously only found in birds, particularly chickens.

It was thought that the boy and the second person who died had caught the virus directly from birds. The hospital admission of two young cousins has raised fears that the virus could be spread from person to person.

The situation is being monitored by the World Health Organisation and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta in the United States.

Sir Kenneth Calman said informing all family doctors of the new strain of flu was a precautionary measure. He told the BBC: "We are simply going to let doctors know the situation at the present. There is no action they need to take."

Officials at the Public Health Laboratory Service in London have reminded family doctors to send in flu samples for testing.

Relevant Stories

Bird flu outbreak warning (17 Dec 97 | World)
Bird-flu: Could it be catching? (15 Dec 97 | World)
Bird flu closes Hong Kong's biggest poultry market (15 Dec 97 | World)

Internet Links

World Health Organisation: Flu details
World health Organisation Home page
Department of Health

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Summaries

In this section

Court tells Hindley life means life
Negative HIV test for Catterick Garrison woman
Don't block Scottish parliament, Dewar tells Lords
Accidental death verdict on body belt prisoner
Ex-MI6 man jailed over memoirs
Extra 65,000 homes face council tax
Irish Government releases nine IRA prisoners
Labour warned against "Thatcherite cut"
Butlins to Hi-Di-Hire 200 new Redcoats (From Business)
New meetings aim to inject life into peace process
Soccer agent Eric Hall critically ill (From Sport)
75 years of women solicitors
Secrecy 'undermining Millennium Dome'
William and Ffion get an eyeful!
MP protests innocence
Where eagles fly (From Sci/Tech)
Roads hit by Siberian snowstorms
Unemployment and retail sales down
Woman charged with baby abduction
Veterans to return medals in Gulf War Syndrome protest
Smart breakthrough for coma patient care
Student university applications drop
Clampdown on quota-busting fish trade
Thirty years of helping the homeless
Britain tipped to survive legal challenge on beef ban

UK Contents

• Politics