Public health officials in Wales are investigating a 'mild strain' of bird flu which may be spreading by person to person contact.
The Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales confirmed a case of avian influenza in birds on a smallholding near Corwen in North Wales last week. The strain identified is the H7N2 low pathogenic virus, different to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain. The 15 chickens affected had been bought at Chelford Market, across the border in Cheshire
The National Public Health Service for Wales has identified 36 people in Wales by the weekend as being possible contacts of avian flu. Eleven of these had symptoms of a flu like illness or conjunctivitis. Some did not have close contact with infected poultry, leading to concern that the disease is being speard by people.
Dr Marion Lyons, lead consultant in Communicable Disease Control, said: "We believe the risk to the health of the general public is low."
She added: "The illness people are experiencing is, for the most part, not serious. No one is seriously ill.
"Preliminary investigations indicate that we cannot exclude person to person spread having occurred in this outbreak. Person to person spread would be very unusual but limited spread of this type has been seen elsewhere in the past in some cases of bird flu."
People who have had contact with individuals with the illness are being offered antiviral medication.
- Pubs concerned about poultry on their menu should check the source of supply. Anyone who purchased from or supplied to Chelford Market in Cheshire on Monday May 7, or any poultry keeper who visited Chelford Market on this date and whose birds have subsequently become ill, have been urged to contact their local Animal Health Office or call the Defra helpline on 08459 33 55 77.