6000 ducks will be culled after bird flu is found in Yorkshire
Like 0 Dislike 0 Published on 17 Nov 2014
6,000 ducks will be culled after bird flu is found in Yorkshire: 10-mile restriction set up around farm but officials say risk to public is very low
One case of the virus confirmed at an unidentified farm in Yorkshire
All birds on the stricken farm are to be culled ‘immediately’, Defra said
Avian or bird flu is an infectious viral illness that spreads among birds
In rare cases, it can jump the species barrier and infect humans
Bird flu has broken out on a duck breeding farm in what is believed to be the first case of the disease in Britain since 2008.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) last night confirmed at least one case of the virus at an unidentified farm in Yorkshire.
Officials said that to prevent the risk of the disease spreading, all birds on the stricken farm would be culled ‘immediately’.
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.
‘We are taking immediate and robust action which includes introducing a 10km (6.2m) restriction zone and culling all poultry on the farm to prevent any potential spread of infection. A detailed investigation is ongoing.’
Defra insisted the risk to public health was ’very low’, and added: ‘We have a strong track record of controlling and eliminating previous outbreaks of avian flu in the UK.’
Bird flu, also known as avian flu, is an infectious viral illness that spreads among birds.
In rare cases, it can jump the species barrier and infect humans. Two strains in particular - H5N1 and H7N9 - have caused serious concern among experts in recent years.
As of last night, the strain involved in the latest outbreak not been confirmed, but the BBC reported the deadly H5N1 strain had been ruled out.
The scare in Yorkshire came on the very day another highly contagious strain of the virus was discovered on a poultry farm in the Netherlands – resulting in a cull of 150,000 birds.
Dutch authorities said last night they had found the H5N8 strain of bird flu at a poultry farm in the village of Hekendorp, while agricultural inspectors banned poultry transport across the whole of the Netherlands for 72 hours.
Cases of the H5N8 strain have also been reported this month in Germany, China and Japan and an outbreak in South Korea meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to prevent it from spreading.
The European Commission said it expected to adopt urgent interim protective measures today to contain the outbreak, including a ban on selling poultry products from the affected areas to EU and other countries.
Earlier this year the British Government was accused of wasting £653million on drugs to stave off a flu pandemic.
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