Swans test negative for bird flu

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The three infected swans were found at the Abbotsbury Swannery, an open reserve in the Chesil Beach area of Dorset on December 27, 31 and January 4.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed that two more dead swans found in the area have tested negative for the H5N1 strain.

John Houston, general manager at Abbotsbury Tourism Ltd, said: "It's good news but it's too early days to be excited by it."

Another dead swan was found along the Fleet lagoon at the historic tourist attraction on Saturday and will be sent for testing.

It takes the total number of dead swans found in the area to ten since December 27, said Mr Houston.

Tests were being carried out on the dead birds at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge and a Defra spokeswoman said: "There are other birds being tested.

"We expect there to continue being birds tested not least because the public are vigilant at the moment which is great because that means the surveillance is more effective."

Mr Houston said the numbers of dead swans found was lower than usual for January. "It's not unusual for birds to die in the winter of natural causes," he said. "In fact, there are less dying at the moment than usual because it's quite warm. Until I hear otherwise I'm going to assume the best."

Defra has set up control and monitoring areas around the Abbotsbury site to try to contain the outbreak, with severe movement restrictions applying within the zones. The discovery comes less than a month after restrictions on poultry movement were lifted in Norfolk and Suffolk.