Officials confirmed last Saturday that the dreaded H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus had been found in turkeys on a commercial farm in Britain. According to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, the virus strain similar to the one found in Hungary, has already killed about 2,500 potential Thanksgiving birds. This is the first time that the strain was found on a British farm.

Fred Landeg, Britain's deputy chief veterinary officer said that all 159,000 turkeys on the said farm in eastern England would be slaughtered. Aside from that, the virus was found in only one of 22 turkey sheds on the farm. The farm is owned by Europe's largest turkey producer, Bernard Matthews PLC.

Officials and experts fear that it could mutate into a form that would spread easily among humans. This of course could spark a global pandemic. They also mentioned that the situation didn't pose a public health threat and that eating properly prepared and well-cooked poultry products posed no risk. But close contact to the sick birds, such as in slaughtering and plucking, could lead to the transmission of the disease from birds to humans. Bird flu expert, Colin Butter had this to say:

There is no need for immediate concern, but we do need to identify the source of the virus...If the virus has come from the wild bird population, we need to know which birds and how much of the population has been affected.