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In a terrible blow just before Christmas, a UK poultry farmer just lost 10,500 turkeys that needed to be culled when bird flu was detected.
Officials confirmed that the H5N8 strain of avian flu was found on Saturday at a turkey farm near Northallerton in North Yorkshire.
Defra (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) said all the birds were culled in an attempt to try to contain the disease as staff set up a temporary control zone around the farm. This is a 3 km (1.9 miles) protection zone immediately around the site of the outbreak with another 10 km (6.2 miles) surveillance zone around it.
Officials confirmed that the H5N8 strain of avian flu was found on a turkey farm in the UK. Photo: Henk Riswick
Defra’s Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said, “We are urgently looking for any evidence of spread of diseases associated with this farm to control and eliminate it.
“Bird farmers should be alert for any signs of disease, report suspected disease immediately, and make sure they maintain good biosecurity on their premises.” Defra said the disease can spread to poultry and other captive birds when wild birds migrate from mainland Europe during the winter period.
Low risk for the public
Routine health advice is offered to those working on the farm as Public Health England (PHE) has said that the public health risk from the virus is very low.
A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency said bird flu poses a very low risk to food safety and added, “Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, remain safe to eat.” Dr Gavin Dabrera, a consultant in acute respiratory infections at PHE, said the World Health Organization has never confirmed any cases of H5N8 in humans to date.
This latest avian flu outbreak is the latest in a series of confirmed cases of avian flu in the UK. The loss of this number of turkeys just before Christmas is unlikely to impact the supply of these birds for the festive table, the industry said. UK poultry farms have faced new calls to boost their biosecurity following a wave of outbreaks of a highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu strain in Cheshire, Devon, Gloucestershire and Hertfordshire in the past 2 weeks. In these cases, outbreaks were found in wild bird populations and 2 broiler farms, where all birds were culled. This strain is also blamed for a string of swan deaths in the UK which were found spinning in circles and discharging blood from their nostrils.
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been established since 1 December.
The AIPZ places a legal obligation on all bird keepers in Northern Ireland to follow strict biosecurity measures that apply to everyone, including those who keep pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a yard.
The decision to introduce an AIPZ follows the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8 (HPAI H5N8) in 5 wild birds across Northern Ireland in recent weeks. Additional cases of AI have been detected in over 100 wild birds across Great Britain with 5 cases of the H5N8 strain confirmed in commercial premises in England.
There have also been 3 cases of wild birds reported in the Republic of Ireland, where similar measures will be introduced on 1 December.
Daera Minister Edwin Poots said: “In recent weeks, the department has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza in 5 wild birds across Northern Ireland.
“It is clear that the virus is now present here and I have therefore made the decision to declare an avian influenza prevention zone from 1 December based on solid expert advice and in consultation with the industry.
“This is a necessary precautionary step that requires all bird keepers to take appropriate action to review and improve measures to protect their birds from this highly infectious disease,” he said.
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