International Shia News Agency

Bird flu confirmed in Britain

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – A case of bird flu has been confirmed at a duck breeding farm in East Yorkshire of England, officials have said. The British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the risk to public health was very low. The poultry is being culled and a 10km (6 mile) exclusion zone is in place.

The exact strain has not been confirmed but the H5N1 form, deadly to humans, has been ruled out by Defra officials. The virus spreads between birds and, in rare cases, can affect humans. On Sunday, an outbreak of a highly contagious strain of bird flu was discovered at a poultry farm in the Netherlands. The Dutch government has temporarily banned the transport of poultry and eggs.

The exclusion zone around the farm in the village of Nafferton will prevent all poultry and poultry waste being transferred in or out of the area, and some 6,000 ducks will be culled, Defra told BBC News.  It said the flu strain had been identified as the H5 virus, stressing that it was not the H5N1 strain.

A Defra spokeswoman said: “We have confirmed a case of avian flu on a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire – the public health risk is very low and there is no risk to the food chain.

A Public Health England spokesman said: “Public Health England are assisting Defra in the investigation of an avian flu outbreak at a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire.

“Based on what we know about this specific strain of avian influenza, the risk to human health in this case is considered extremely low.”

Source: British Media

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