Britain reports bird flu outbreak at poultry unit

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) – An outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 bird flu has been reported at a small poultry unit in central England, the country’s farm ministry confirmed on Monday.

All birds on the infected premises, near Alcester in Warwickshire, will be culled.

The outbreak comes less than week after Britain declared a nationwide Avian Influenza Prevention Zone, ordering farms and bird keepers to toughen biosecurity measures.

The H5N1 strain had previously been confirmed at small backyard flock of chickens in north Wales, among captive birds in east Scotland and at a bird rescue centre in central England.

The virus has been spreading across Europe during the last few weeks with outbreaks in several countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark. (Reporting by Nigel Hunt; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Louise Heavens)

Photo – file photo by EPA/ERIK S. LESSER