An outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed at a commercial poultry farm near Hornsea, East Yorkshire.
Tests revealed the presence of the H5N5 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced the discovery on Tuesday.
This is the second outbreak in England this year, following a previous case in February, although it is the first case of the H5N5 strain detected in poultry during the current outbreak.
Bird flu: Yorkshire poultry farm begins cull after outbreakPennsylvaniaAuthorities have established a 3 km protection zone and a wider 10 km surveillance zone around the affected site.
These control measures constitute standard protocol for managing avian flu outbreaks.
All poultry on the premises will be humanely culled as part of Defra’s containment strategy.
Bird farmers in the region have been urged to remain vigilant and implement measures to protect their flocks, as the virus can be spread through bird droppings, saliva and contaminated feed and water .
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This is the first case of the H5N5 strain detected in poultry in England during the current outbreak, although the more common H5N5 and H5N1 strains have been detected in wild birds across Britain this autumn.
Although the risk level for H5 avian influenza has been medium to high in wild birds, the UK Food Safety Agency has assured that the risk to public health remains very low.
The Food Standards Agency has also confirmed that bird flu poses a minimal risk to food safety, with properly cooked poultry products, including eggs, remaining safe to eat.
Earlier this year, six cases of bird flu were recorded in Northern Ireland.
Previous outbreak of avian flu in 2022 in wild bird populations
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The virus, which has been around for about a century, typically shows increased activity during the fall months before declining in the spring and summer.
The outbreak comes after a horror new study suggests the world is descending into a new pandemic far worse than Covid.
A study of sustained transmission of avian influenza between mammals in various species, led by the Pirbright Institute, shows that global strategies to control the H5N1 avian influenza virus, also known as bird flu, are not working.
Writing in Nature, researchers analyzed whether outbreaks on European fur farms, in South American marine mammals, and in U.S. dairy cattle raised questions about whether humans would be next.
Led by zoonotic influenza specialist Dr. Thomas Peacock, the scientists assessed how recent changes in the ecology and molecular evolution of H5N1 in wild and domestic birds increase the possibility of the virus spreading to mammals.
“Influenza A viruses (IAVs) have caused more documented global pandemics in human history than any other pathogen,” said Dr Peacock, who is investigating the causes of the current influenza panzootic. avian H5N1.
“Historically, pigs are considered optimal intermediate hosts that help avian influenza viruses adapt to mammals before jumping to humans.
“However, the altered ecology of H5N1 opened the door to new evolutionary pathways.”
The Doctor added: “What keeps scientists up at night is the possibility of invisible chains of transmission spreading silently in farm workers’ barracks, pigsties or developing countries, evolving unnoticed because the criteria testing facilities are narrow, government authorities are feared, or resources are limited. are thin.