Britain's Christians & Church Clergy Receive Briefing on Bird Flu Outbreak

|PIC1|With the discovery of a dead swan carrying the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Fife, Scotland, clergy and church members have been sent a briefing paper regarding the impact the discovery of Avian Flu might have across Great Britain as well as locally.

Britain’s first case of the virus was officially announced last Thursday, after the wild swan was discovered at a harbour in Cellardyke, 450 miles north of London.

As a precautionary measure, the British government have set up restrictions on the movement of poultry. However, fears of a widespread outbreak of bird flu across Britain were receding last night as the infected swan remained the only confirmed case even though more than 1,100 birds have been examined since the end of February.

The briefing for clergy was prepared by Rev Nick Read, who is the Chaplain for Agriculture and Rural Issues for the Diocese of Hereford.

Rev Read explained, “We had already set up a small working party to ensure we could pass on information in the event of this happening so we are prepared. In a rural area like ours with a lot of poultry farmers, as well as a large company supplying chicken to the supermarkets, we need to be as fully briefed as possible.”

|TOP|The two-page briefing offers a background on the nature of the virus, and also discusses the implications that it has for human health. The economic impact was also examined in the situation where the nation’s population stopped eating its usual amounts of chicken or cancelling visits to the countryside tourist attractions.

“We need to be sensible about our response and keep things in proportion, but we also need to be ready,” said Rev Read.

He continued, “We are suggesting that each parish might begin to document the names and contact details for poultry farmers and those who keep a few hens as a hobby. We are building on our experience during foot and mouth. The ability to contact people by letter and email during that time, meant we could respond in a valuable way to those affected.”

Despite leaked documents showing government plans for closing schools and dealing with food shortages in the event of a human flu pandemic, the British government also sought to reassure the public that the chance of the bird virus mutating into a form that can be transferred from human to human was “very low”.

|AD|More than 100 people worldwide have died of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the disease so far, but all have been in close proximity to infected poultry.

Concerns about bird flu appear to be receding among the British public, with Defra, Britain's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, reporting a drop in the number of calls to its hotline over the weekend.

On Saturday, there were 1,250 callers from all over Britain, around half the number who called on Friday.

Defra said 900 of the calls did not meet the criteria for further investigation.

The Avian Flu Paper 1 briefing has been emailed to all clergy as well as a wide range of other people within the Church of England locally. It also contains relevant contact names and organisations.

Useful contact information:

Defra Helpline: 08459 33 55 77
Anni Holden, Communications Officer, Diocese of Hereford: 01432 373 342