DEFRA confirms H5 bird flu case in turkey flock

DEFRA has today confirmed avian (bird) flu in turkeys on a unit near Diss on the Norfolk/Suffolk border after preliminary tests were positive for the H5 strain.

The premises also contain ducks and geese. All birds on the premises will be slaughtered.

The Acting chief vet Fred Landeg said that laboratory results on what type of bird flu it was were expected “in the next 24 hours”.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live that the disease was discovered on Sunday by a vet, who noticed that there had been an increasing number of deaths among turkeys in one of the five sheds on the farm.

A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone are being established around the Infected Premises. Inside these zones bird movements will be restricted and all birds must be housed or otherwise isolated from contact with wild birds. DEFRA is also urgently considering with ornithological and other experts what wider measures may be needed.

All poultry keepers on the GB Poultry Register will be notified and the EU Commission has been informed.

Earlier this year in February, the UK saw its first H5N1 outbreak in a commercial poultry flock.