British officials on Monday confirmed an outbreak of bird flu in turkeys on a farm in eastern England, according to AP. The department said the turkeys had tested positive for the H5 subtype of the disease. It was not yet known whether it was the H5N1 strain, which has killed dozens of people around the world. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said a three kilometer (two mile) protection zone and a 10 kilometer (six mile) surveillance zone had been set up around a farm in Diss, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of London, and all 5,000 turkeys, geese and ducks on the premises would be slaughtered. Within these zones bird movements will be restricted and all birds must be housed or otherwise isolated from contact with wild birds, DEFRA said, adding that the European Union had been informed. In February, an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on a poultry farm in the same part of England led to the slaughter of almost 160,000 turkeys.
