1:21pm UK, Thursday April 06, 2006

The Prime Minister has urged members of the public not to panic following the confirmation of bird flu in Britain.

After a swan was found in Fife with the deadly H5N1 strain, Tony Blair said the public needed to understand that it had implications only for poultry and those handling poultry.

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No need to panic, says Blair

He said: "It is very important that people understand this. This is not a human-to-human virus, it is something that is transmitted to poultry.

"It is only if humans are in direct and very intensive contact with poultry that there is any risk involved.

"As other countries have had to cope with this and take these preventative measures, we will do so. We will act according to the best advice."

Poultry producers urged consumers to keep eating chicken and turkey despite the news of the disease.

They said contingency plans were in place, and people should continue to buy and eat poultry as normal.

The Soil Association admitted outbreaks of bird flu in other European countries had caused sales to fall.

But a spokeswoman said: "There is no science behind it - as long as you are not drinking the raw blood of chickens, then your risks are very low."