UK farm to slaughter 10,500 turkeys as concern grows over wave of bird flu from Europe – RT UK News



[ad_1]

More than ten thousand turkeys will be slaughtered on a poultry farm in northern England following the discovery of H5N8 avian influenza. The slaughter comes amid fears of an outbreak of bird flu originating in Europe.

Medical authorities have confirmed that avian flu was discovered on a commercial turkey fattening farm near Northallerton, North Yorkshire. All 10,500 birds on the farm would be culled to limit the spread of the disease, which has been identified as the highly contagious H5N8 strain. The British public has been reassured that the outbreak does not pose a risk to food security.

Read more


Netherlands slaughter 190,000 chickens amid highly contagious bird flu outbreak

The discovery of the disease comes amid reports of a spate of swan deaths linked to bird flu. Poultry farmers in England, Scotland and Wales were ordered earlier in November to implement strict lockdown measures at their facilities to help prevent the spread of the disease. Recent outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been detected in Cheshire, Devon, Gloucestershire and Hertfordshire.

Christine Middlemiss, UK Chief Veterinarian, expressed a “high level” concerned about recent developments, noting that the “Volume of infections” was worrying.

However, avian influenza poses a minimal risk to public health. Usually, the virus does not infect humans, although animal-to-human transmission has been recorded in the past. However, contagious strains of the virus can quickly spread among bird species, making the infected animal sick or killing.

Earlier this month, 190,000 chickens were slaughtered at two poultry farms in the Netherlands after a strain of the H5 avian influenza variant was detected. H5N8 has been found in wild bird populations in Europe, raising the possibility that it could spread rapidly with migrating flocks.

The potential for animal-to-human transmission of avian influenza has become more pronounced as health authorities continue to battle Covid-19.

Danish authorities recently ordered the slaughter of the country’s 17 million farmed mink, which are reared for their fur, after a mutated version of Covid-19 spread from animals to humans. The Danish Minister of Agriculture resigned following the order, which was deemed illegal. However, the government moved ahead with the plans, arguing it could get retroactive permission to slaughter the animals.

Do you like this story? Share it with a friend!

[ad_2]

Source link