Bizarre swan deaths reported in Europe as birds die after bleeding nostrils and circling

A virulent strain of avian flu that is spreading across northwestern Europe could be responsible for a series of mysterious swan deaths in the UK, post-mortem examinations have revealed.

In recent weeks, wildlife rescuers have spotted swans circling around and bleeding from their nostrils before dying, The Guardian reported.

In Ulverston, in north-west England, where at least 8 swans have died, a volunteer said he had never seen such strange symptoms.

“A lot of them started spinning on their axis in one direction. It was terrible to see. Some of them were discharging from their nostrils and some of them were bloody,” said Caroline Sim of the local Flying Free swan rescue operation. The Guardian.

David Cash, a swan rescuer from Worcester, central England, where at least 25 swans have died, witnessed birds suffering from bird flu-like symptoms.

“The swans looked lethargic and didn’t want food, and they were coughing a lot – it’s similar to the symptoms of COVID,” he said. The Guardian.

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) tested several dead swans, finding that at least six had contracted the highly pathogenic strain H5N8, which has been detected circulating among birds in the lowlands. yard and wilderness in Central Asia in July 2020.

The strain has now been detected in northwestern Europe, including the Netherlands, UK, Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark and Ireland, prompting authorities to introduce countermeasures. Experts believe the strain was introduced to Europe by birds that migrate west to warmer climates between August and December.

While avian flu has caused the deaths of swans as well as other wild birds, such as geese, in recent weeks, said Ruth Cromie of the UK Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. The Guardian that it was originally spread from poultry.

“Wild birds are often seen as bad vectors, but they fall victim to a virus that originally spread from poultry. Wild birds are used as scapegoats for poor biosecurity and people moving chickens around the world, ”she said.

The H5N8 strain was responsible for a major epidemic in the winter of 2016-2017, when around five million backyard birds had to be culled in Germany, Poland and Hungary.

Dutch authorities have already culled hundreds of thousands of farmed birds this year after outbreaks of avian flu were detected, with a highly contagious strain of the H5 variant believed to be responsible.

There are now fears in the UK that the strain will wipe out large numbers of poultry over the winter, with several outbreaks of bird flu having been confirmed across the country in recent weeks.

While the virus is extremely deadly to wild birds and poultry, Public Health England said the risk to human health from the virus, at the moment, is “very low”.