The UK Health Protection Agency contributed to the public health management of the recent avian influenza incident in Wales and the north west of England by providing expert support and advice to the National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS) and by coordinating the response within England.
This follows the finding of avian influenza H7N2 infection in birds on a small farm in North Wales.
As reported on Friday 25 May, the Agency tested samples from people associated with the incident who were displaying symptoms. Four of these were positive – two in Wales and two in the north west of England .
The two English cases had purchased poultry from a source associated with the Welsh cases. Both English patients required treatment in hospital but have since recovered.
As part of the routine management of this incident in England , the Health Protection Agency North West identified and contacted 110 people who either had direct contact with the patients or with their suspect poultry. Of these, approximately 80 were given preventative treatment treated with the antiviral medication, oseltamivir (Tamilflu ? ), as a precautionary measure.
No new cases have been identified to date and the seven-day incubation period (from last contact with an infected person or poultry) for avian flu has now passed, indicating that it is highly unlikely that further other cases associated with this outbreak will be found. All laboratory test results on the immediate family and close personal contacts of the patients or their poultry have been negative to date.
The H7N2 virus, which was found in the poultry, is a low pathogenic strain of avian flu. It is different to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain currently circulating in South East Asia . To date, H7N2 infection in humans has generally been associated with mild disease. The risk to the wider public from this outbreak was therefore considered to be low.
Dr John Reid , Cheshire and Merseyside Health Protection Unit Director said: ?Although human to human spread would be a very uncommon occurrence in avian influenza cases, we decided to take a very strict precautionary approach. We therefore offered antiviral medications and monitoring to all those exposed to poultry and close contacts of the human cases to ensure any risk was minimised.
? I should like to thank our staff for their hard work over the past 10 days, including a bank holiday weekend, and the patients and their contacts for the co-operation they gave us in dealing with this issue .?