The outbreak was reported on Friday night (2 February 2007) after the death of 2,500 turkeys on a farm 120 miles from London.
UN officials warned that Europe should be ready for more outbreaks after a seperate case was identified in Hungary two weeks ago. The UN Senior Co-ordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, Dr. David Nabarro, told Reuters: "I think we will have more in Europe in the next month or two."
13 EU countries have been hit by the virus since the beginning of last year.
EU legislation requires strict controls on the movement of poultry in the case of an outbreak and the setting up of a protective zone around the infected holding.
World Health Organisation officials praised the British authorities for following the European guidelines in place, saying that Britain was handling the outbreak "in the proper way, the way that's been required by the European Commission and I believe that under these circumstances, we would be unlucky if other farms in the vicinity get affected".
They also confirmed that the H5N1 virus, although primarily affecting birds, can infect humans. Worldwide out of 271 confirmed cases, there have been 165 human deaths since 2003.
The European Commission will formally approve the UK's establishment of a protective zone around the farm on Monday, before a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on Tuesday – comprised of veterinary experts - to assess further steps to be taken.
However, an EU spokeswoman told the FT that she did not expect any introduction of a trade ban: "Last year there were 14 outbreaks in different member states and no calls for import bans. Trading partners have confidence in our measures," she said.
