Bird flu outbreak is latest in long line of English agricultural woes

LONDON - The heart of Britain's poultry industry has been struck by its second outbreak of H5N1 bird flu this year, and the country's farmers say they fear the virus could hurt the hugely profitable trade in Christmas turkeys.

A bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm in eastern England was confirmed Tuesday as H5N1, the same virulent strain that has killed scores of people around the world. In Europe, the disease has remained largely limited to birds.

Human infection is still a worry, but Britain's crisis-hit agriculture industry may be the most immediate victim.

"Obviously this is another huge blow to the farming industry," National Farming Union President Peter Kendall said Tuesday, explaining that the industry was still dealing with the effects of flooding as well as the bluetongue and foot-and-mouth diseases that struck livestock over the summer.

Foot-and-mouth and bluetongue do not affect humans, but they can sicken animals. The slaughter and restrictions imposed in their wake have hurt the farming industry.