Ancaster: Bird flu cases confirmed at commercial premises

Cases of bird flu have been confirmed at commercial premises in Lincolnshire.

Avian flu had been identified at a firm in the Ancaster area, according to Lincolnshire Trading Standards.

Officials have urged bird owners to take measures to reduce the risk of the disease spreading.

The avian flu cases are the first to be confirmed in the county since the start of the year and come as the UK and the EU continue to deal with their largest ever outbreak of the H5N1 virus.

The UK outbreak has so far led to the culling of around 3.2m birds in the country in the last year.

Mark Keal, Lincolnshire Trading Standards manager, said: "Although it's not entirely unexpected that we would eventually have cases in the county, if you keep birds, we urge you to maintain good biosecurity measures to limit the spread of avian flu as much as possible.

"We are also asking the public to be particularly vigilant about wild birds which may be infected by the disease.

"If you see dead wild birds, do not touch them," he said.

Mr Keal added that avian flu primarily affected birds and the risk to the general public was "very low".

However, he said that reports from the public could help track the spread of the disease and prevent it infecting poultry and other captive birds.

Avian flu is spread by close contact with an infected bird, whether it is dead or alive.

The virus - which can destroy poultry flocks - was first confirmed in Lincolnshire on 11 December 2021, with 12 separate outbreaks identified in the period up to the 2 January 2022.

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