Swans die in horrific deaths amid new bird flu outbreak in Europe

• UK officials are increasingly concerned about the spread of bird flu in the country after reports some swans are dying horribly and bloody.
• Swans have been reported to be circling and bleeding from their nostrils before dying in parts of the UK.
• The deaths come amid an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu, H5N8, which has already led to the culling of thousands of birds across Europe.
• The disease is not believed to pose a threat to humans, and there is currently no indication that it could impact poultry supply chains.
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UK authorities are increasingly concerned about the spread of bird flu in the country after reports of a number of swans dying in horrific and bloody ways.

According to a Guardian newspaper report, a number of swans in Cumbria, northwest England, have been seen circling and bleeding from their nostrils before dying. The incidences of this event have been reported in the Ulverston Canal, the Guardian said.

“A lot of them started spinning on their axis in one direction. It was terrible to see. Some of them were sticking out of their nostrils and some were bloody,” said Caroline Sim, volunteer for Flying Free, a group that works. to preserve Ulverston’s swan population, according to the Guardian.

Although cases of swan deaths in Cumbria have not been directly linked to bird flu at this point, a number of swan deaths in Dawlish, Devon – about 250 miles south of Ulverston – have been confirmed to have contracted H5N8, the latest strain of bird flu. .

Cases of the virus have been seen across Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, Norway and others reporting cases of H5N8.

Getty Images / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

“Wild geese near Stroud in Gloucestershire and swans near Dawlish in Devon have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8,” the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said ( DEFRA) in a press release on November 11.

On November 22, DEFRA released guidelines for bird owners and created a new Avian Flu Prevention Zone.

Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief veterinarian, told Sky News over the weekend that the increase in bird flu infections must be taken seriously.

“My level of worry is really high,” she said. “We potentially have a lot of risk there,” because of the “sheer volume of infections,” she added.

Officials, however, have made it clear that the risk to humans from this new strain is low.

“To date, no human case of influenza A (H5N8) infection has been confirmed by WHO and the risk to public health is very low,” said Dr Gavin Dabrera, consultant in respiratory infections. acute for Public Health England.

Food standards authorities added that the risk of contracting the disease from eating infected poultry is low.

“Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, remain safe to eat,” the UK Food Standards Agency said.

Regardless of the low threat to humans, authorities across Europe have started culling thousands of birds in an attempt to stop the spread. According to Reuters, 16,000 turkeys in Germany were slaughtered this week, while 48,000 chickens were killed in the Netherlands and 13,000 killed on a farm in northwest England.

On Sunday, it was reported that more than 10,000 turkeys on a Yorkshire farm are said to be slaughtered after the virus was found in some birds.

It is currently unclear whether bird slaughter has the potential to threaten poultry supply chains before Christmas.