■The sudden appearance of virulent bird flu on a Suffolk turkey farm seems to have taken everyone by surprise. How worried should we be?

The diagnosis of H5N1 avian flu on one of Europe’s largest turkey farms is deeply disturbing for the commercial poultry industry, after a year in which European birds had largely escaped infection by the virus. It reappeared on a Hungarian goose farm two weeks ago and has now leapt 1,500km north-west to East Anglia. This means that birds anywhere in Europe are potentially vulnerable. But for the general public the latest outbreak poses virtually no health risk.