A dead swan discovered in Eastern Scotland in the UK this week was found to have the H5N1 strain of Bird Flu, prompting speculation that the virus could spread throughout Britain.
The likelihood of the lethal H5N1 strain of the bird-flu virus mutating into a form that can be transmitted between humans is "very low", the British government's chief scientific adviser said on Sunday.
Although the scientist acknowledged that transmission of the of the Bird Flu in Scotland UK from birds to humans could trigger a global pandemic, he said it was "totally misleading" to say it was inevitable.
"The pandemic flu that we are now talking about would be in the human population. It is not in the human population at the moment," he told ITV1 television.
"So, yes, the government is preparing for the possibility that the bird flu found in a swan in Scotland UK could start a pandemic, but I would say it's a very low possibility. I don't believe it's inevitable."
Despite the 100 or more deaths from bird flu, mainly in Asia, widespread human-to-human transmission of the disease had not developed.
And he denied that the swan's discovery in Scotland meant that bird flu was now in Britain, insisting it was "absolutely not" in poultry and that he was "fairly optimistic" about the wild bird population escaping the disease.
"The one swan found dead in Scotland does not mean it has arrived here. We need to see more evidence of spread before we can say that it has arrived in the United Kingdom," he said.
Malaysia announced on Sunday it was banning imports of birds and eggs from Britain after the discovery. This seems strange as a lot of the original bird flu stemmed from Malaysia and thedeath of the swan in Scotland is minor compared to its Bird Flu record.
The mute swan in Scotland had a "very similar" strain of the H5N1 form of bird flu to the one found in scores of birds on the German island of Ruegen in February, said Scotland's chief veterinary officer, Charles Milne, on Sunday. There was no scientific proof to determine how the swan came to be infected.
The discovery of the dead swan in Scottland with the lethal H5N1 virushas prompted thousands of calls reporting dead birds to a national helpline set up by the environment ministry.
Now that this deadly form of bird flu has hit Scotland many chicken farmers throughout the UK are on a serious alert. If ths bird flu found in Scotland spreads to the rest of the UK and gets into the stock of chicken farmers and egg producer it could become serious, not only for their health but their living.
VERY LATEST NEWS: For the most up to date news about bird flu go to Bird Flu Articles
(c) Askabouthealth.com 2005 - Bird Flu Hits Scotland UK
"So, yes, the government is preparing for the possibility that the bird flu found in a swan in Scotland UK could start a pandemic, but I would say it's a very low possibility. I don't believe it's inevitable." 
