Warning of new bird flu outbreak in Yorkshire – as experts say virus could soon spark ‘next pandemic’
Another bird flu alert has been issued in England after an outbreak of the virus was detected in East Yorkshire.
The latest incident, in Nafferton, East Riding of Yorkshire, is the 16th detected in the Britain this year.
Government officials have imposed a 3km protection and 10km surveillance zone around the area that restrict the movement of birds like chickens as well as poultry products like meat and eggs in the area.
All birds at the premises of the new outbreak will be culled, officials added.
It comes as experts warned that the virus, which spreads through wild and domestic birds’ droppings and saliva, as well as contaminated food and water, could jump to humans, sparking a new pandemic.
However, the current risk is considered low with cases of bird to human infection rare.
But experts are concerned about the current strain of bird flu spreading worldwide with multiple cases making the jump to humans.
This include 66 people diagnosed with the virus in the US in cases believed to be linked to contact with infected poultry or from drinking unpasteurised milk from sickened cattle.
Another bird flu alert has been issued in England after an outbreak of the virus was detected in East Yorkshire. Stock image
This map, from the Government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency show the areas with bird flu restrictions in place
Blue rings on the map represent the 3km protection zones and the yellow rings 10km surveillance zones. The shaded burgundy area represents a ‘avian influenza protection zone’ where people with birds are asked to take measures to protect their flock from wild birds that may carry the virus, such as housing them in indoor enclosures if possible
Alan Gosling (pictured), a retired engineer in Devon, caught bird flu after his ducks, some of which lived inside his home, became infected in 2022
Meanwhile, a Mexican man died after contracting the virus last year.
It is unknown how the 59-year-old, who had health complications and died in April, came into contact with the pathogen.
He was reported to have developed a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea and nausea.
There is, as yet, no examples of human-to-human transmission, though some studies suggest the virus is only a mutation away from having this capacity.
The latest outbreak in Yorkshire comes after a string of other cases in England last month.
Poultry from three premises have been identified in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, the latest being found on December 28.
Other outbreaks have been reported near Norfolk, City of Kingston upon Hull and Suffolk, some involving turkeys which had been destined for Christmas dinner tables.
The wave of outbreaks comes just months after a panel of UK Government experts said the ongoing infections in American cattle had boosted the risk of human-to-human transmission to up to 35 per cent, compared to just five per cent previously.
They also warned Britain will need to ramp up surveillance efforts from September onward when birds from the US cross the Atlantic as part of their annual migrations, potentially bringing the virus with them.
Independent experts have told MailOnline the threat of a new pandemic sparked by bird flu is low but ‘cannot be excluded’ as a possibility.
Weeks a go the UK Health Security Agency announced it had purchased 5million doses of a human H5 influenza vaccine in preparation for a potential bird flu, also called avian influenza, pandemic.
While no new human cases of H5N1 have been detected in the UK as part of the current wave of outbreaks, Britain has seen people infected before.
Alan Gosling, a retired engineer in Devon who kept ducks at home, caught the virus in early 2022 after his pets became infected.
He later tested negative while he was in quarantine for nearly three weeks.
