Bird flu affecting poultry in Lincoln area

Cases of avian influenza H5N1 (bird flu) have been confirmed in poultry at premises in Lincolnshire according to the county council.

Hundreds of birds have been or are being humanely culled in the nine outbreaks with the most recent reported at Welton on December 14 - which was latest incident notified to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)  - and Subrooke on December 6.

A 3km Protection Zone and 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around each premises.

Avian flu, as its name suggests, mainly affects birds, but the H5N1 strain has also affected marine animals and dairy cattle globally leading to some human cases in exposed farm workers, but these are rare occurences.

If you own birds by law you must follow the rules for the disease control zone that you’re in. Find out more on the Government website. 

If you suspect any type of avian influenza in poultry or captive birds you must report it immediately by calling the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301.

If you have not already, you should register your poultry, even if only kept as pets, so you can be contacted during an outbreak locally. This is a legal requirement.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low.

The Food Standards Agency’s advice is that on the basis of the current scientific evidence, avian influenza poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

Defra’s advice also includes wild birds – do not touch dead or visibly sick swans, geese, ducks, gulls or birds of prey, but report them to the Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77. Defra will collect some of these birds and test them to understand how the disease is distributed geographically and in different types of bird. Not all birds are collected and it is the responsibility of the landowner to safely dispose of bird carcasses.