New bird flu outbreak in Europe

The prospects of an increase in the need for more personal protection equipment (PPE), particularly face masks, in Britain and Europe to protect against the lethal strain of bird flu may have moved closer with recent news of a fresh outbreak.

A road in Bohemia, Czech Republic, has just re-opened after six days of quarantine, following the outbreak that hit a turkey farm in the area, the Prague Post reports.

It was the first case of the H5N1 strain found in a domestic flock in the country and led to 7,000 birds either dying from the virus or being culled.

PPE equipment was worn by officials who carried out the cull and subsequent clean-up.

The outbreak is almost certainly related to another near Nuremberg in southern Germany, according to Germany's top government veterinary lab.

Commenting on a 99.2 per cent match between the two virus outbreaks, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute said: 'The degree of similarity points to an as yet undetermined common origin for both viruses.'


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