Mild bird flu virus spreads to north-west England

London, June 8: A recent outbreak of mild bird flu in north Wales has spread across the border to north-west England, Britain's farm ministry said.

A case of a low pathogenic H7N2 bird flu has been found at a poultry farm near St. Helens and all the birds will be slaughtered and a 1 km exclusion zone imposed, the ministry said.

The outbreak is unrelated to the H5N1 strain which has killed 189 people since 2003, mostly in Asia.

The H7N2 strain was found at a farm in Conwy, North Wales last month.

The two farms are about 70 miles (113 km) apart.

Reuters>