What is the Government doing?

The Department has a contingency plan for dealing with Avian Influenza outbreaks and this plan is continuously reviewed.

As required under EU legislation, disease control would be by slaughter of infected poultry and dangerous contacts, and the imposition of movement controls around the infected premises.

We advise keepers to:

Any further action would have to be based on our own risk assessment and be proportionate.

We have increased surveillance of wild birds for evidence of avian influenza infection. This includes increased surveillance of wild bird mortality including some screening by various ornithological groups. Further information about the wild bird surveillance is available at the  Dard website

DARD’s policy is not to vaccinate poultry against avian influenza at the present level of risk, because currently available vaccines do not make vaccination effective or efficient as a disease control or prevention.

However, we keep our policy on vaccination under review in the light of scientific developments in vaccines. We do not have any objection in principle to the use of vaccination generally or specifically in relation to avian influenza.

As a consequence of Avian Influenza (AI) outbreaks in the Far East and eastern European continent, EU Member States agreed to increase levels of surveillance for possible presence of AI in certain species of migratory waterbirds.

The programme introduced for the autumn migration of water birds has two main elements:

Species thought to be at greater risk for introducing avian influenza, in particular ducks, geese, swans, gulls and waders, will be targeted.

Sampling of live caught birds will be carried out between 1 October 2008 and 31 December 2008.

The EU Member States have agreed to intensify and co-ordinate surveillance programmes for migratory waterbirds.

It has long been the case that anyone who keeps poultry has an obligation to report signs of illness in their birds, and must know what to do about an avian influenza notifiable disease: this includes operating adequate biosecurity, and consulting their vet.  

We have distributed guidance material to our partners in the industry who are helping to distribute this material to their members, who cover the great majority of bird keepers. We have produced a simple one-page leaflet on Biosecurity and surveillance for smaller concerns and hobby keepers. This was posted on our website and sent out to organisations representing the industry to send on to their members. Biosecurity guidance has also been mailed to all vet practices in Northern Ireland.

In addition we have issued press releases targeting the same audience to get Biosecurity and surveillance messages across. All these pieces of guidance are available on the DARD website.

We have also produced guidance to help bird keepers plan how they will protect their birds from wild birds.

DARD has a contingency plan for dealing with Avian Influenza outbreaks and this plan is continuously reviewed.

It sets out all the steps to be taken when a suspected case of disease is notified and how the Department will control any confirmed outbreak.