THE UK's chief vet has warned there is a "phenomenal level" of bird flu in the country after tens of thousands of farmed birds were culled.

An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone was declared across the UK on November 3 before being extended on November 29 with the added requirement all captive birds had to be kept indoors.

This was done amid concerns that wild birds migrating from mainland Europe during the winter are carrying the disease.

The risk to human health from avian influenza remains very low, according to public health advice, and there is a low food safety risk.

There are 40 infected premises in the UK, according to Britain's chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss.

She told the BBC the "phenomenal level" of bird flu has "huge human, animal and trade implications".

Dr Middlemiss said the disease is being spread by migratory birds flying back from the north of Russia and eastern Europe and insisted further research is needed to prevent a worsening outbreak in the future.

"We can't wait until another year and have an even bigger outbreak,"Dr Middlemiss told the broadcaster.

Most read in THE SUN

"So, we will be working not just with our own scientists but internationally, to understand more of what we can do about what's behind it."

The vet warned the UK is only a few weeks into a migratory season that goes on until March.

"We are going to need to keep up these levels of heightened biosecurity for all that time," she said.

Dr Middlemiss told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there are 40 infected premises in the UK – 38 in Great Britain including 33 in England, adding that around half a million birds have been culled so far.

The protection zone means that, in addition to keeping birds and poultry housed, keepers must continue to take precautions such as regularly cleaning and disinfecting clothing, equipment and vehicles and limiting access to non-essential workers and visitors.

Defra has said the new housing measures will be kept under regular review.

UK chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said people who keep chickens and want to feed wild birds need to make sure everything is kept "scrupulously clean" and "absolutely separate" to avoid infecting their own flocks.

Asked if bird flu is particularly bad this year due to climate change and changes in migration patterns, Dr Middlemiss told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We don't know specifically, but it's certainly one of the thoughts that our experts are having about what that impact might be.

"The birds migrate to the north of Russia over the summer and mix with other birds and other global flight pathways there and they exchange the viruses.

"So it's quite plausible that, with climate change and change in pathways, different mixing is going on. But that hasn't been fully investigated yet."

What is bird flu?

Bird flu, or avian flu, is a type of influenza that spreads among birds.

It is spread by close contact with an infected bird – either dead or alive.

This includes touching infected birds; touching droppings from infected birds; killing or preparing infected poultry

There are a number of different strains of the bird flu virus, however, most of them do not affect humans.

There have only been four strains that have caused concern in recent years.

• 1997 – H5N1
• 2013 – H7N9
• 2014 – H5N6
• 2016 – H5N8

Source: Read Full Article