Bird flu 'will stay in Britain for five years'

Published on Tuesday 28 February 2006 11:43

BIRD flu will arrive in Britain within months and stay for at least five years, the government's chief scientific adviser has predicted.

Professor Sir David King warned the disease could become "endemic" in the UK as it is in China, but he said he did not expect it to be as damaging as foot-and-mouth was in 2001.

Both he and Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Secretary Margaret Beckett have said the vaccination of poultry is being kept under review but warn it may not be very effective.

Speaking at the Annual Conference of the Annual Farmers' Union, Sir David said: "I would anticipate that avian flu will arrive at some point in the UK. We also have to anticipate that it will be here for five years plus.

"We are talking about the possibility of this disease being endemic here in the UK as it was in China. It's a long-term factor."

He said he expected bird flu to reach the UK in months rather than in days or weeks due to the pattern of bird migration.

Sir David said: "I feel - and I am prepared to stand here and say this - rather more optimistic about a potential H5NI outbreak in poultry holders in the UK than I would have been about foot-and-mouth back in 2001."