The Avian Flu Advisory Committee set up to advise the Government on how to prevent the spread of bird flu to the State is expected to meet today in Dublin following confirmation of a second outbreak of the disease in Britain.
British scientists yesterday confirmed the second outbreak of the potentially lethal H5N1 bird flu on a Norfolk farm which had a shared workforce with the original source of the disease, Redgrave Farm.
The new infected site is just a few miles from the original outbreak and was listed by the British agriculture ministry as one of the "dangerous contacts" established last week.
While this is bad news for the poultry industry in Britain scientists there are pointing out that the new outbreak is within the original controlled zone which was set up following the original outbreak on November 13th.
All fowl on five farms have been destroyed and the staff vaccinated and all staff working on the farm have been offered preventive medicine against avian flu. The H5N1 strain of avian flu has already killed more than 200 people, mainly in Asia, and there is worldwide concern that should it mutate in a human sufferer and be passed on to other humans, the disease could trigger a worldwide outbreak of the disease which could kill millions.
A Department of Agriculture spokesman said last night that developments in Britain were being carefully monitored.