WELSH farmers were on red alert last night after an outbreak of bird flu was discovered in Oxfordshire. The news comes just over a year since the outbreak in Conwy in which several people were struck down with flu symptoms. Yesterday Defra confirmed that chickens on a farm near Banbury had tested positive for the H7 strain of bird flu. All birds will be slaughtered as a precautionary measure after the case of avian flu was diagnosed by new chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens.
Testing is continuing to discover whether the strain is a highly pathogenic one. Defra said a temporary control zone with a two mile inner zone and a six mile outer zone had been established round the premises. In the inner zone, poultry must be housed and kept isolated from wild birds, and across the whole zone movement of birds and bird gatherings are banned. More
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