People exposed to H5N1 in English turkey outbreak get antiviral and vaccination

All people potentially exposed to H5N1 avian influenza in an outbreak in turkeys at a farm in England have been offered antiviral prophylaxis and seasonal flu vaccination to reduce their risk of infection and were told to see their GP if they get symptoms.

Almost 160 000 turkeys have been killed, and movement restrictions have been introduced at a large turkey farm in Suffolk, in southeast England, after some birds were found to be infected with the H5N1 strain.

Maria Zambon, from the Health Protection Agency, a special health authority providing public health advice to the NHS, said farm workers who had come into contact with infected birds and people involved in the culling process were being offered the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) as a precaution. But she stressed that nobody had developed symptoms of bird flu after similar …