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Information on Avian Influenza

Brief details of the disease

• Avian Flu has been around more than one hundred years.  
• Last outbreak in the UK was in 1991 at a turkey farm in Norfolk.  
• There was an outbreak in 2003 in The Netherlands which spread to Belgium and Germany. 250 farms were affected and 28 million birds were slaughtered.

There have been various outbreaks worldwide over the years.

Human Health Implications

·         The likelihood of humans contracting Avian Flu is very low.

·         Humans will usually only be infected through close contact with live infected birds.

·         People most at risk are those in close contact with infected poultry or infected material from poultry, this includes poultry farmers, veterinarians and others involved in disease control.

• Food safety risk – the World Health Organisation have advised that there is no health risk from eating well cooked poultry meat or eggs.

What to do.

·         Where a large number of birds are found dead should it be reported. In the event of an unusually high number of dead wild birds being discovered the matter should be reported to the DEFRA helpline 08459 33 55 77.

·         Birds kept in outside aviaries – if a large number of deaths occur in a short space of time it is recommended that this is reported to the owner’s local private veterinary surgeon.

For the latest information see:

• Health Protection Agency website - general health information. \n
• Defra website www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/index.htm - animal health information. \n
• Food Standards Agency - food safety information

Matthew Blythe