Avian flu (bird flu) outbreak in duck breeding farm in Yorkshire, UK | WPN World People News

On 16 November Defra confirmed a case of avian flu (bird flu) in a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire, UK. The strain has now been identified as H5N8. The advice from Public Health England and the Chief Medical Officer is that the risk to public health is very low, and the Food Standards Agency has said there is no food safety risk for consumers.

Immediate action was taken to control the outbreak. The UK introduced a 10km restriction zone and a complete cull of all 6,000 birds on the farm was carried out to prevent any potential spread of infection. The cull was to prevent the spread of potential infection, and was carried out in a safe and humane manner by fully trained APHA staff. The cull was completed on 19 November.

It remains important that anyone keeping poultry takes the right measures to prevent the spread of the disease – the UK have published additional biosecurity guidance.

Investigations are ongoing to discover whether the outbreak is linked to cases found in Netherlands and Germany with further test results expected over the coming days.

The UK responses to this outbreak follows tried and tested procedures for dealing with avian flu outbreaks. It has a strong track record of controlling and eliminating previous outbreaks of avian flu and all action will be taken to control this outbreak to prevent a further spread of the disease.

The restriction zone bans movements of all poultry, products and waste within the area. Poultry must be housed or isolated in the zone. Bird gatherings (fairs, shows, exhibitions) are banned and game birds cannot be released.

Source: UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs