More than 50 birds may have died from potentially lethal bird flu at a south Essex quarantine centre, a Government investigation has revealed.

A National Emergency Epidemiology Group report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) found that 53 mesia finches from Taiwan died at the quarantine facility in Fambridge Road, Ashingdon, run by Horndon-based Pegasus Birds.

It is not known how many of the dead birds died from the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, which they may have caught from Chinese ducks.

The report, published yesterday, also ruled out the possibility that the disease had been passed on to other species of birds at the facility, situated at the home of Southend Hospital maintenance worker Howard Savage.

Original media reports suggested a Surinamese pionus parrot had died from the disease at the compound, but Defra vets now believe the disease was contained to the finches, which were imported by Pegasus on September 28 and 29.

According to Defra's report, the "H5N1 infection was, on the balance of probabilities, introduced to the facility by the mesias" and "had not transmitted to the other species in the facility".

The Government's chief veterinary officer, Debby Reynolds, said the findings would be helpful to those hoping to find out more about avian influenza.

She said: "This report contains significant epidemiological findings and helps to further our understanding of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

"In particular, the apparent lack of transmission of H5N1 between species in the facility will be of interest to the international community."

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Published Wednesday, November 16, 2005

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