A bird flu outbreak has been detected on a turkey rearing farm in the UK, which has a flock of approximately 19,500 birds.
The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed the H5N8 strain of the bird flu at the farm located near Boston, Lincolnshire.
A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of the disease spreading.
A number of the flock has died and the remaining live birds at the premises will be humanely culled, according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
A full investigation is under way to determine the source of the infection.
This is the second outbreak of the disease reported in a commercial poultry flock in the UK this week.
An outbreak of bird flu was detected in a flock of 10,000 farmed breeding pheasants at a premises in Preston, Lancahshire.
Both protection and surveillance zones were put in place around the farm, while the remaining live birds were also reportedly culled.
All poultry keepers in the UK are currently required by law to house their birds or to keep them separate from wild birds.
Public Health England advise that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency is clear that bird flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers.
Bird flu in Ireland
A fourth case of avian influenza (bird flu) was confirmed in Ireland this week.
The case was identified in a whooper swan around the Leitrim/Longford border. It is the second case to be identified in a whooper swan in Ireland.
Last week, the Department of Agriculture confirmed a third case of bird flu in a whooper swan in the Borrisokane area of Tipperary.
The two other cases of the disease were found in wigeons, one in Wexford and one in Galway.
The Department has warned poultry owners and those with backyard flocks to confine their birds, even if they only keep a few chickens.
