Source Defra
# 9334
Although there is no official notice yet on the UK’s Defra website, as the graphic above illustrates, Defra has just posted updated guidance on spotting and reporting signs of avian flu infection.
The British press – including the BBC below – are carrying preliminary reports however, of an outbreak of an unidentified subtype of avian flu at a duck farm in Yorkshire.
This report comes on the heels of the Netherland’s H5N8 outbreak reported earlier today, and two human infections with HPAI H5N1 in Egypt, also reported today. Both incidents come just 9 days after Germany reported Europe’s first outbreak of H5N8.
This morning, we also looked at growing concerns over the emergence and spread to other countries, of HPAI from China (see FAO On The Potential Threat Of HPAI Spread Via Migratory Birds).
While the subtype in Yorkshire has not been identified, some news reports are saying that HPAI H5N1 has been eliminated. Hopefully we’ll get clarification overnight or in the morning.
Case of bird flu confirmed at Yorkshire duck farm
16 November 2014 Last updated at 19:16 ET
A case of bird flu has been confirmed at a duck breeding farm in east Yorkshire, officials have said.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the risk to public health was very low. A cull of poultry is being carried out at the site and an exclusion zone is in place.
The strain has not been confirmed, but the deadly H5N1 form has been ruled out by Defra officials.
The virus spreads between birds and, in rare cases, can affect humans.
The exclusion zone around the farm will prevent all poultry and poultry waste being transferred in or out of the area. All poultry will also be isolated.
