Suriname Denies UK Bird Flu Parrot Infected There

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A parrot from Suriname that was infected with bird flu and died in quarantine in Britain, did not contract the disease in the South American country, a Suriname government official said Saturday.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname — A parrot from Suriname that was infected with bird flu and died in quarantine in Britain, did not contract the disease in the South American country, a Suriname government official said Saturday.


British officials Friday reported traces of the highly pathogenic H5 avian flu virus were found in the parrot imported from Suriname, which had been held with other birds from Taiwan.


But the government of Suriname, a former Dutch colony on South America's shoulder which exports thousands of birds each year, said it has increased tests to ensure sick animals are not sent abroad.


"Because many countries have sharpened their conditions for the import of wildlife, we are now not only performing the routine checks, but we also make a special inspection for bird flu," Edmund Rozenblad, head of veterinary inspection for the Ministry of Agriculture, told Reuters.


"I am very certain the parrot was not infected in Suriname," he added.


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The British government is working to determine if the virus which killed the parrot was the H5N1 strain, which has killed more than 60 people in four Asian countries since breaking out in late 2003 in South Korea.


It has now reached as far west as European Russia, Turkey and Romania, tracking the paths of migratory birds.


The World Health Organization has said the deadly H5N1 strain is endemic in poultry in China and across much of Asia, and that it may be only a matter of time before it mutates to transfer between humans.


Rozenblad said other birds shipped from Suriname with the infected parrot were healthy.


"If any bird would have been infected, all other birds, or at least many of them, would have become ill. I have been informed that all birds of this shipment destined for the Netherlands have been released from quarantine and are now for sale," Rozenblad said, adding other birds in the shipment were sent to Japan.


Officials from neighboring Guyana said they were monitoring for any signs of the bird flu but that no trace has been found so far.


Germany said it would ask the European Union next week to ban all wild bird imports.


(Additional reporting by Sharief Khan in Georgetown)


Source: Reuters