CHESHIRE poultry farmers are tense but confident in their preparations as bird flu approaches.

Contingency plans are in place for the nightmare scenario that the disease is able to cross from wild birds in Europe to domestic poultry in the UK.

Farmers know the arrival of the disease would require quick action to stop economic disaster for the industry.

Advice from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recommends farmers: nFeed and water birds indoors.

Keep poultry separate from wild birds, waterfowl, pets and other animals.

Maintain a bio-secure poultry unit by keeping away visitors and their vehicles.

Look out for signs of the disease such as increased mortality, falling egg production and respiratory distress.

Egg producer Ian Lloyd, of Leadgate Farm in Huxley, has 5,000 free-range hens among his 15,000 birds. The prospect of having to lock away the birds as a precautionary measure is a worrying one because he relies on the higher price paid by the consumer for the 'free-range' label to offset the higher production costs.

He said: 'Let's hope it doesn't come but if it did they would issue a derogation and the birds would have to be kept indoors. We can do that at very, very short notice.'

Mr Lloyd said the situation was a 'little ambiguous' as to whether he would then be allowed to market his eggs as free-range.

'In the worst-case scenario, if bird flu came, the minister would announce all birds would have to be kept inside for a period of, say, 12 weeks,' he said.

'I would think they might give us three months grace so we could still call the birds free-range. But after 12 weeks, if the birds were still inside, where do you go then?'

However, there is confidence among many poultry farmers about the strength of Defra's response. And Mr Lloyd believes junior agriculture minister Ben Bradshaw is managing the situation well so far.

He said: 'I heard Ben Bradshaw last night and I thought he spoke quite well.

'He had a bit of a bashing off Jeremy Paxman but I thought he handled it well because you can so easily cause a panic with this sort of thing.'

If the disease gets into poultry, the industry - a sector of farming noted for its profitability and efficiency - will suffer immediately, although farmers would be compensated.

'I'm trying to find out what we would be entitled to,' said Mr Lloyd. 'They won't pay for infected birds but they would have to slaughter all the birds and we would be compensated for them.'

Q&A >>>

Q&A

Q: What is bird flu?

A: There are 15 types of bird, or avian, flu. The type currently causing concern is the deadly strain H5N1, which can prove fatal to humans. Migratory wildfowl, notably wild ducks, are natural carriers of the viruses, but are unlikely to develop an infection. The risk is that they pass it on to domestic birds, which are much more susceptible to the virus.

Q: How do humans catch bird flu?

A: Humans catch the disease through close contact with live infected birds. Birds excrete the virus in their faeces, which dry and become pulverised, and are then inhaled.

Q: Is it possible to stop bird flu coming into a country?

A: As it is carried by birds, there is no way of preventing its spread. But experts say tight controls may prevent it being passed to domestic flocks.

Q: How many people have been affected?

A: As of 13 February, 2006, the World Health Organisation had confirmed 169 cases of H5N1 in humans in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Turkey and Iraq, leading to 91 deaths.

Q: How quickly is it spreading?

A: After bird flu claimed its first human victim - a three-year-old boy in Hong Kong in May 1997 - the disease was not detected again until February 2003, when a father and son were diagnosed with H5N1, again in Hong Kong. Since then it has spread westwards through Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Q: Can it be passed from person to person?

A: For the most part, humans have contracted the virus following close contact with sick birds. There may have been examples of human-to-human transmission, but so far not in the form which could fuel a pandemic.

Q: What would be the consequences of a mass outbreak?

A: Once the virus gained the ability to pass easily between humans, the results could be catastrophic. Worldwide, experts predict anything between two million and 50 million deaths. However the mortality rate - which presently stands at about 50% of confirmed cases - could decline as it mutates.

Q: Is there a vaccine?

A: There is not yet a definitive vaccine, but prototypes which offer protection against the H5N1 strain are being produced.

Q: Can I continue to eat chicken?

A: Experts say avian flu is not a food-borne virus, so eating chicken is safe. The only people thought to be at risk are those involved in the slaughter and preparation of meat that may be infected. It is recommended all meat be cooked to at least 70°C. Eggs should also be thoroughly cooked.