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| Preparations begin for a cull of ducks at a farm in Nafferton, East Yorkshire, after a bird flu outbreak. Photograph: Lynne Cameron/PA |
The strain of bird flu found on a duck-breeding farm in the UK is
the same as the one recently identified in the Netherlands and Germany,
the environment department has said.
The culling of 6,000 ducks at the farm in Nafferton, near Driffield, East Yorkshire, where the “highly pathogenic” virus has been found, is under way, according to officials.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the disease was the H5N8 strain, the same as the strain confirmed at a chicken farm in the central province of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and in Germany.
But the advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health England remained that the risk to public health from the virus was “very low” and the Food Standards Agency has said there is no food safety risk for consumers, she said.
She said the cull to prevent the potential spread of infection was being carried out in a safe and humane manner by fully-trained staff from the government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency.
“Our response to this outbreak follows tried and tested procedures for dealing with avian flu outbreaks and we expect the cull to be completed later today. Additionally, our animal health laboratory at Weybridge has confirmed that the outbreak of avian influenza in East Yorkshire is the H5N8 strain.
“The advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health England remains that the risk to public health is very low. The Food Standards Agency have said there is no food safety risk for consumers,” the spokeswoman said.
The cull of 6,000 ducks at the farm owned by the UK’s largest producer of duck and duck products, Cherry Valley, comes after the transport of poultry and eggs throughout the Netherlands was banned after the H5N8 outbreak in Utrecht.
Officials have been quick to reassure the public that the strain found at the farm after the alarm was raised by a vet on Friday was not the H5N1 strain of the virus which has led to human deaths, and that the risk to public health from the outbreak remained very low.
But experts have warned further outbreaks could emerge in the coming days.
Officials are investigating how the virus reached East Yorkshire, whether it could have be the result of commercial transport of birds, or carried by wild birds which are also affected by bird flu.
The East Yorkshire outbreak is the first serious case of bird flu since 2008, when the H7N7 strand was found in free-range laying hens near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Most types of bird flu are harmless to humans but two types, H5N1 and H7N9, have caused serious concerns.
Chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said the Cherry Valley farm at the centre of the alert had good biosecurity in place, and as a result the risk of spread was “probably quite low”, he said. But he warned more cases could follow and, because of the risk of wild birds spreading the disease, urged farmers and their vets all over the country to be alert to the possibility of disease.
Keith Warner, president of the British Veterinary Poultry Association, also said that while previous outbreaks of bird flu had been controlled on one or two isolated farms, there could be more incidents in the latest outbreak.
“Everybody in the UK that owns birds in any number should be on biosecurity lockdown,” he urged, advising no unnecessary visits to farms, transport or sharing of equipment, and that free-range birds in the restriction zone should be kept inside.
Paul Bellotti, head of housing, transportation and public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire council, said staff would be stationed across the six-mile (10km) surveillance zone and the two-mile protection zone immediately around the farm to provide advice and guidance and gather important data.
“By the close of play today, every registered poultry farm will be visited within the 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone, as well as other smaller non-registered poultry and bird-keeping premises that we become aware of during the course of the day,” he said. “Residents should not be concerned by the visits being undertaken by our officers and we would ask that they provide any and all assistance, if requested.
“The council would like to once again state that the risk to public health is very low and would also like to reassure residents that poultry and eggs are safe to purchase and eat, subject to normal food preparation. Motorists and the travelling public should continue to use any and all routes on the highways network, unless they are advised otherwise, and, unless specifically closed, public footpaths remain open.”
The British Poultry Council said: “Defra confirmed this afternoon that the strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) found on a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire is of the H5N8 strain, which is a very low risk to human health and no risk to the food chain. Work is now under way to understand the route of the infection.
“The exclusion zones around the farm, at 3km (protection zone) and at 10km (surveillance zone), remain in place. Across the country a high level of surveillance of housed and wild birds is continuing.”
The culling of 6,000 ducks at the farm in Nafferton, near Driffield, East Yorkshire, where the “highly pathogenic” virus has been found, is under way, according to officials.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the disease was the H5N8 strain, the same as the strain confirmed at a chicken farm in the central province of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and in Germany.
But the advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health England remained that the risk to public health from the virus was “very low” and the Food Standards Agency has said there is no food safety risk for consumers, she said.
She said the cull to prevent the potential spread of infection was being carried out in a safe and humane manner by fully-trained staff from the government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency.
“Our response to this outbreak follows tried and tested procedures for dealing with avian flu outbreaks and we expect the cull to be completed later today. Additionally, our animal health laboratory at Weybridge has confirmed that the outbreak of avian influenza in East Yorkshire is the H5N8 strain.
“The advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health England remains that the risk to public health is very low. The Food Standards Agency have said there is no food safety risk for consumers,” the spokeswoman said.
The cull of 6,000 ducks at the farm owned by the UK’s largest producer of duck and duck products, Cherry Valley, comes after the transport of poultry and eggs throughout the Netherlands was banned after the H5N8 outbreak in Utrecht.
Officials have been quick to reassure the public that the strain found at the farm after the alarm was raised by a vet on Friday was not the H5N1 strain of the virus which has led to human deaths, and that the risk to public health from the outbreak remained very low.
But experts have warned further outbreaks could emerge in the coming days.
Officials are investigating how the virus reached East Yorkshire, whether it could have be the result of commercial transport of birds, or carried by wild birds which are also affected by bird flu.
The East Yorkshire outbreak is the first serious case of bird flu since 2008, when the H7N7 strand was found in free-range laying hens near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Most types of bird flu are harmless to humans but two types, H5N1 and H7N9, have caused serious concerns.
Chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said the Cherry Valley farm at the centre of the alert had good biosecurity in place, and as a result the risk of spread was “probably quite low”, he said. But he warned more cases could follow and, because of the risk of wild birds spreading the disease, urged farmers and their vets all over the country to be alert to the possibility of disease.
Keith Warner, president of the British Veterinary Poultry Association, also said that while previous outbreaks of bird flu had been controlled on one or two isolated farms, there could be more incidents in the latest outbreak.
“Everybody in the UK that owns birds in any number should be on biosecurity lockdown,” he urged, advising no unnecessary visits to farms, transport or sharing of equipment, and that free-range birds in the restriction zone should be kept inside.
Paul Bellotti, head of housing, transportation and public protection at East Riding of Yorkshire council, said staff would be stationed across the six-mile (10km) surveillance zone and the two-mile protection zone immediately around the farm to provide advice and guidance and gather important data.
“By the close of play today, every registered poultry farm will be visited within the 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone, as well as other smaller non-registered poultry and bird-keeping premises that we become aware of during the course of the day,” he said. “Residents should not be concerned by the visits being undertaken by our officers and we would ask that they provide any and all assistance, if requested.
“The council would like to once again state that the risk to public health is very low and would also like to reassure residents that poultry and eggs are safe to purchase and eat, subject to normal food preparation. Motorists and the travelling public should continue to use any and all routes on the highways network, unless they are advised otherwise, and, unless specifically closed, public footpaths remain open.”
The British Poultry Council said: “Defra confirmed this afternoon that the strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) found on a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire is of the H5N8 strain, which is a very low risk to human health and no risk to the food chain. Work is now under way to understand the route of the infection.
“The exclusion zones around the farm, at 3km (protection zone) and at 10km (surveillance zone), remain in place. Across the country a high level of surveillance of housed and wild birds is continuing.”
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