The risk of avian flu to British nationals visiting countries affected by avian flu is believed to be very low. There is no reason not to travel to these countries
The risk of avian flu to British nationals living overseas in countries affected by avian flu is also currently very low; but they should take personal responsibility for their own safety in the event of a future pandemic, including considering their access to adequate healthcare
All those visiting or living in countries affected by avian flu should follow sensible precautions The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that recent outbreaks of bird flu, also known as avian influenza, could trigger a future human flu pandemic.
Experts began monitoring a form of avian influenza - known as the highly- pathogenic H5N1 (or A/H5N1) strain - eight years ago. Since the end of 2003, there have been a series of outbreaks amongst poultry and wild birds, starting in South-East Asia. Information about countries that have experienced outbreaks is available on thw WHO website.
Medical experts warn that the avian influenza virus could combine with influenza viruses already circulating in the human population or adapt into a form which could be transmitted readily between people. It is impossible to predict when this might happen. But if it did, it could trigger a global human flu pandemic.
It is important to distinguish between avian flu, the current disease affecting mainly birds, and pandemic flu, which would affect mainly humans and is at this stage only a possibility.
There are no specific restrictions for travellers to any of the countries affected by avian influenza, as the risk is believed to be very low. But if you plan on travelling to areas where outbreaks have been reported, you may wish to take the following precautions:
Avoid visiting live animal markets, poultry farms and other places where you might come into contact with wild, domestic or caged birds
Avoid contact with surfaces contaminated with animal faeces or fluids
Avoid eating or handling poultry, egg or duck dishes, if any of these are undercooked or raw (normal cooking destroys the avian influenza virus)
Wash hands regularly
Do not attempt to bring any live poultry products back to the UK
There is at present no vaccine against any future pandemic flu strain. The normal seasonal flu vaccination protects against currently circulating human influenza strains, but is unlikely to offer any protection against avian flu strains or against a new pandemic flu strain. The use of seasonal flu vaccination, by minimising numbers of cases of seasonal flu, would reduce opportunities for avian strains to mix with human strains, and may allow people with avian or pandemic flu to be more easily identified.
Anti-viral drugs, such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu ®), may be effective in reducing the severity and duration of an influenza illness, but this has not been proven in a pandemic situation and their effect may be limited
