More than 10,000 turkeys are set to be killed after another bird flu outbreak was confirmed on an English farm.
The birds will be culled at a premises in North Yorkshire after avian flu was confirmed there, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed.
In a statement, it said: ‘Avian influenza of the H5N8 strain was confirmed at a turkey fattening premises near Northallerton on Saturday, November 28.
‘All 10,500 birds at the farm will be humanely culled to limit the spread of the disease. A 3km and 10km temporary control zone has been put in place around the infected site to limit the risk of the disease spreading.’
The statement said there is not anticipated to be any impact on the supplies of turkeys or other birds over Christmas.
It is the latest in a series of bird flu scares in the UK, with the threat from the virus raised from ‘low’ to ‘medium’ in the country last month.
In early November, it was announced that nearly 500 birds in Kent would be slaughtered after a H5N2 outbreak. The next day, the government confirmed that a further 13,500 animals would be killed after H5N8 was detected in Cheshire.
A third outbreak, also of H5N8, of was detected in the same week among chicken in Herefordshire.
And yesterday a spate of UK swan deaths were being linked to avian flu outbreaks across Europe.
Public Health England (PHE) and the Food Standards Agency also moved to reassure meat-eaters that avian influenzas pose a very low risk to people, and that properly cooked poultry products including eggs are safe.
The UK’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, who advises the Government on animal welfare, said ‘immediate steps’ were taken to stop the disease from spreading when it was detected at the farm on Saturday.
She added: ‘Bird keepers should remain alert for any signs of disease, report suspected disease immediately and ensure they are maintaining good biosecurity on their premises.
‘We are urgently looking for any evidence of disease spread associated with this farm to control and eliminate it.’
Dr Gavin Dabrera, consultant in acute respiratory infections at PHE, said the World Health Organisation has never confirmed a case of the avian flu strain (H5N8) in humans.
He said: ‘As a precaution the local Health Protection Team will offer routine health advice to those working on the farm. We will work with Defra to monitor the situation closely.’
A detailed investigation is underway to find the most likely source of this latest outbreak.
Wild birds migrating from mainland Europe during the winter period can spread the disease to poultry and other captive birds.
This is a breaking story – more to follow.