December 22, 2020

Scotland confirms bird flu outbreak

Scotland has confirmed a bird flu outbreak among a flock of free range chickens at a farm in Sanday, Orkney.

A six-mile temporary control zone has been set up and the remaining birds at the premises in Sanday have been culled.

After birds in a free range laying flock of chickens tested positive on the H5N8 avian influenza, Scottish authorities said appropriate restrictions had been imposed on the premises including identifying contact premises to limit the spread of the disease.

Controls were placed in Sanday, along with restrictions on the movement of poultry, carcasses, eggs, used poultry litter and manure, and restrictions on bird gatherings.

Scotland's chief veterinary officer, Sheila Voas, said: "This case of H5N8 in a flock of birds in Sanday confirms that avian influenza is present in Scotland. We have already made clear that all bird keepers, whether major businesses or small keepers with just a few birds, must ensure that their biosecurity is up to scratch to protect their birds from disease and prevent any contact between their birds and wild birds.

"Public health advice is that the risk to human health from the virus is very low and food standards bodies advised that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers, and it does not affect the consumption of poultry products including eggs."

With the confirmation of bird flu in Scotland and high numbers of findings among wild bird populations in England, the risk of avian influenza incursion has been raised to very high for wild birds, medium for poultry with high biosecurity, and high for poultry with poor bio-security.

Mairi Gougeon, Scotland's rural affairs and natural environment minister, said: "With the recent disease confirmations in wild and captive birds in the UK, it is not unexpected for avian influenza to be found in birds here in Scotland.

"We ask that the public remain vigilant and report any findings of dead wild birds."

 - The Guardian