I refer to Dr Mireille Vella’s (Director - Food and Veterinary Regulations Division, Rural Affairs and the Environment) reply (TMID, 27 October) to my letter (TMID 25 October), which elucidates standards and procedures concerning local measures in case of an outbreak of bird flu.

I have every admiration and confidence in Dr Vella, who has a huge challenge in front of her in the face of a possible bird flu crisis. Although the disease presently poses “no direct threat” to people in Malta, I am certain that through Dr Vella, the government can rest assured of her ability to take the issue very seriously. Therefore, I give her all my support.

Noting the proportionate actions, based on the best available evidence Dr Vella has indicated, it is very important that viruses should be identified as quickly as possible as new strains do emerge. This is crucial in understanding how the disease might spread, both among birds and human beings. The flu virus is a very rapidly mutating virus. Strains are changing constantly. Dr Vella must be aware that there are a lot of unanswered questions about H5N1.

I hope that there will not be a human pandemic and that a bird epidemic may be avoided, at the least controlled. However, it is this latter case that is preoccupying, since Malta is a very small island and the spread of disease may be very difficult to control. As far as I am concerned, an epidemic where H5N1 mutates and is transmitted from human to human might never happen. If it does happen, this may take some time to spread globally.

However, there are a lot of uncertainties. The H5N1 strain of bird flu was confirmed in Romania and Turkey in the past days. Although it does not easily infect humans, health experts fear its influenza A virus could mutate into a more contagious form, sparking a pandemic.

I beg to differ from Dr Vella concerning Greece. According to recent updates, authorities in Greece identified the virus at a turkey farm on the island of Oinouses, near the Turkish coast. If the potentially lethal strain is identified, it would be the first time the disease had entered EU territory. Agriculture minister, Evengelos Basiakos said the H5 virus had been detected in one of nine turkeys tested on Oinouses. Tests were being conducted for the possible presence of the deadly H5N1 virus. Preliminary tests have identified bird flu and narrowed down the virus to the H5 type, but more rigorous testing is being conducted to determine whether it is the deadly H5N1 strain that was confirmed in Turkey last week and in Romania on Saturday.

We must be careful and pay attention to what is happening around us. Even in Croatia, tests have confirmed the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus strain in wild swans found dead in a pond in eastern Croatia. Results from the laboratory in Weybridge confirmed the H5N1 virus. The European Commission has banned exports of wild fowl, live poultry and certain poultry products from Croatia.

The bird flu virus that has arrived in Europe poses an unprecedented threat, with experts warning that the number of human infections reported in Asia could be just a small proportion of the actual figure.

As more birds become infected, a strain of bird flu that can spread between humans is more likely to arise. In Malta, even though poultry is kept indoors, the spreading of the virus among poultry would have very serious consequences.

Bird flu spreads in the air and in manure. Wild fowl often act as resistant carriers, spreading it to more susceptible domestic stocks. It can also be transmitted by contaminated food, water, equipment and clothing. However, there is no evidence that the virus can survive in well cooked meat. The incubation period is three to five days. Symptoms in animals vary, but virulent strains can cause death within a few days. While bird flu spreads rapidly among birds, it does not infect humans easily, and there is no confirmed evidence of human-to-human transmission. Of the 15 subtypes known, only subtypes H5 and H7 are known to be capable of crossing the species barrier.

It is feared that if the bird flu virus undergoes antigenic shift with a human influenza virus, the new subtype created could be highly contagious and potentially lethal in humans.

Dr Mireille Vella is doing sterling work and I wish her luck in her battle to improve our health defences and preparedness in the eventuality of an outbreak of bird flu on our shores.

Martin Vella

Kalkara