Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in commercial poultry at a premises near Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
HPAI, more commonly known as bird flu, was suspected in the poultry on Saturday (August 27) and after official testing was confirmed yesterday (Sunday, August 28).
As per protocol, a disease control zone (comprising a 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone) has been put in place and all poultry on the premises will be humanely culled.
There are currently 10 disease control zones in force across England, six of which are in Devon. The remaining are in Norfolk, Cornwall and Bedfordshire.
The most recent case in Devon was confirmed at the beginning of this weekend on Friday (August 26) at a third premises near Cullompton.
Prior to this, the most recent confirmed bird-flu case was on August 21, in commercial poultry at a premises near Gayton in Norfolk.
Despite these ten cases, the official risk level for bird flu across Great Britain is currently low for all poultry. Becasue of this, the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) that was introduced to help stop the spread of bird flu in November 2021 was lifted earlier in the month (August 16).
At the time, UK chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said:
“Now we are in the summer months and experiencing higher temperatures, the risk to poultry has now been reduced across Great Britain and so the time is right to lift the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone.
“However, there are still localised areas of risk as we have seen recently, and therefore it’s vital that everyone keeps biosecurity and cleanliness at the forefront of their minds to keep their flocks safe.”
