Bird Flu Outbreak Confirmed at North Lincolnshire Poultry Farm
Authorities confirmed bird flu at a commercial poultry farm near Brigg in North Lincolnshire. Defra has ordered a humane cull of all birds on the premises and imposed movement restrictions around the site. The UK health and food safety agencies say risks to the public remain very low, and properly cooked poultry and eggs are safe to eat.
A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at a commercial poultry farm near Brigg in North Lincolnshire, with Defra ordering a humane cull of all birds on the premises. The restrictions limit bird movements around the site, while health authorities say the risk to the public remains very low.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said a protection zone of about two miles (3km) and an eight-mile (10km) surveillance zone had been established. The farm is a commercial premises near Brigg.
All birds at the site will be culled. The protection zone restricts the movement of birds in the area, a measure intended to contain the outbreak and limit further spread from the premises.
The confirmation adds to cases recorded during the current bird flu season in the UK. The first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) this season were confirmed in Scotland on 2 October.
What do the restrictions mean for nearby poultry farms?
Bird movements within the protection zone are restricted, while the wider surveillance zone covers an eight-mile (10km) radius around the site. The zones put local poultry operations under movement controls as officials respond to the outbreak.
The virus involved is HPAI H5N1. It can spread through birds’ droppings and saliva, as well as contaminated feed or water. That makes controls around the affected premises relevant to other bird keepers in the area, particularly where birds or their feed and water could be exposed to contamination.
The cull also carries a direct cost for the affected farm: the birds on the premises will be lost as authorities act to contain the infection. An earlier outbreak in England this season showed the potential scale of that impact. In October, a farmer said losing 32,000 egg-laying birds was likely to cost her business more than £100,000.
That earlier loss gives a concrete measure of the pressure an outbreak can place on a poultry business, although it concerns a different farm. For the Brigg premises, Defra’s current measure is the removal of all birds, alongside movement restrictions in the surrounding zones.
What is the risk to people and food?
The UK Health Security Agency said the risk to the general public’s health from avian influenza remained very low. The Food Standards Agency also assessed the food safety risk as very low.
Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat, the Food Standards Agency said. The agencies’ assessment distinguishes the outbreak among birds from the risk to consumers who handle and eat poultry products.
Transmission from birds to humans is rare, and there has been no sustained human-to-human transmission. The response around Brigg focuses on the affected poultry premises and controlling bird movements in the area.
