 'Because this is a zoonotic disease, it has the potential to infect people' Dr Middlemiss told the Telegraph. 'We exercise frequently with the UK Health Security Agency and others for those scenarios happening.' It is a fast moving virus with the national risk of bird flu in wild birds having increased and it is now considered to be very high - there have been more than 200 confirmed cases since late October 2021. In tightly packed populations of birds the 'R' rate can be as high as 100 meaning that an individual bird with the virus could infect 100 others, it is reported. More than 3.8 million birds are believed to have now been culled this year in the UK following the Avian H5N1 outbreak. So far the virus has not mutated enough to spread between humans but people have caught the virus, with the World Health Organisation stat){kind=link}
The bird flu virus that is causing havoc for poultry farming could spread to humans and Whitehall officials have reportedly said that emergency drills are being practiced in case it should happen
Emergency drills are being practiced in case the bird flu virus, causing mayhem in poultry farming, crosses over to humans, reportedly said Whitehall officials.
From Monday, birdkeepers in England will be legally required to house their poultry indoors in a bid to tackle the spread of avian influenza.
And farmers have warned about the potential impact on the supply of turkeys this Christmas due to the UK’s largest outbreak of bird flu.
Chief veterinary officer Dr Christine Middlemiss has said that with it possible for the virus to be transmitted to humans, all is also being done to protect people as well as animals.