Bird flu found in Wales but not deadly H5N1

LONDON (Reuters) - Authorities confirmed an outbreak of bird flu in Wales on Thursday, but said it was not the H5N1 strain, which is potentially deadly to humans and has caused scares elsewhere in the past.

Christianne Glossop, Wales's chief veterinarian, told a news conference that tests had confirmed the presence of the H7N2 strain of bird flu at a farm in Denbighshire, North Wales.

"While we are taking it very seriously, this is a low pathogenic avian flu," she said at the Cardiff news conference, according to the BBC.

The farm owners bought 15 chickens two weeks ago, all of which have since died, she said.

Thirty other chickens and two geese at the farm were being slaughtered on Thursday and a one kilometre restriction zone was put in place around the farm, preventing poultry from being brought in or out of the area.

Two people associated with the farm who have shown flu symptoms are receiving flu medication as a precaution, but are not believed to be in danger.

Britain has been on the watch for bird disease after Europe's biggest turkey producer Bernard Matthews was forced to destroy 160,000 turkeys because of an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in England earlier this year.

The World Health Organisation says 186 people have died of bird flu since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Southeast Asia in 2003. The virus has since spread throughout much of Asia, parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.