Britain’s chief veterinary officer warns bird flu is at ‘PHENOMENAL level’

Britain’s chief veterinary officer has warned bird flu is at a ‘phenomenal level’ after being spread by migratory species as tens of thousands of birds are culled at 40 farms – the ‘largest’ ever recorded.

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

This was done amid concerns wild birds migrating from mainland Europe during the winter were carrying the flu.

The current number of 40 confirmed infected premises in the UK is the largest ever, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

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

But UK chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss told the BBC the ‘phenomenal level’ of bird flu has ‘huge human, animal and trade implications’.

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

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

‘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. 

‘I know that sounds a huge number, and of course for those keepers affected it’s really devastating,’ she said.

‘But in terms of food supply impact it’s actually relatively a very small number in terms of egg supply, meat, chicken and so on.’

She added that there is an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone in place, requiring strict biosecurity from all birdkeepers.

Dr Middlemiss added that 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.

‘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.’ 

Dr Middlemiss also said there is an ongoing background risk of bird flu every year, adding that previously there would have been a reasonably sized outbreak followed by two or three quiet years.

‘And now we’ve got this massive increase with the migratory wild birds, and absolutely it’s something we need to understand better about why we are getting these ongoing infections every year,’ she said.

Her comments came as four more swans were reported to have died on the lake in an award-winning park at a seaside resort.

It means one in three of the graceful birds on the pond in Stanley Park, Blackpool, have now succumbed to the disease which has swept across Britain, hitting poultry farms and wildfowl populations.

Last week there were reports that all 10,500 Christmas turkeys will be culled at a farm in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, after the H5N8 strain of avian influenza was found.

Officials said today that the death toll in the award-winning Stanley Park now stands at 21, with swans making up the vast majority of victims. 

There were 68 swans living on the pond in early November – there are just 48 today.

It was cordoned off on November 11 after two swans and a Canada goose died.

They were sent to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which confirmed the diagnosis.

By November 25th, 17 birds were dead, with Blackpool Council warning that three more swans were showing symptoms. Now another four have died. 

People have been asked by council chiefs to avoid the lake, and to steer clear of any dead or injured birds.

People who would otherwise feed the swans, but are now unable to do so because of the restrictions, have the option to donate supplement feed to be distributed by the council by contacting the Brambles Wildlife Rescue Facebook page.

The protection zone means 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.

Yesterday, six pelicans that call St James’s Park their home were being moved to an enclosure after the outbreak of bird flu in the UK.

A ranger was spotted loading one of the huge birds into the boot of a car next to the lake in the central London park.

The Royal Parks said in a statement that they had been advised by the government to move the pelicans as a ‘precaution’ due the outbreak.