Days after a case of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N8, was discovered in Norway, authorities in the United Kingdom have spotted it in a turkey farm in North Yorkshire.
“Avian flu has been confirmed at a commercial turkey fattening farm near Northallerton, North Yorkshire,” Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said in a statement, which said it was of the H5N8 strain.
A 3km and 10km Temporary Control Zone has been put in place around the infected site to limit the risk of the disease spreading, the government said in a statement.
All 10,500 birds at the farm would be humanely culled to limit the spread of the disease, with the risk to public health being very low.
"Public Health England (PHE) advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency advises that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat."
The announcement comes after a wave of mysterious swan deaths in the UK sparked concerns of a new disease outbreak. The Guardian had reported that swans in Cumbria were found bleeding from their nostrils and spinning in circles, with postmortem examinations confirming that six black swans and cygnets that died in Dawlish, Devon, died of the H5N8 strain.
Earlier, on November 27, authorities in Norway detected a case of the H5N8 strain in a wild short-billed goose, its Food Safety Authority had said. The FSA said that farm birds in southern Norway would have to be kept indoors.
Earlier, Denmark ordered the culling of 200,000 chickens after some were found infected with the strain.
