New bird flu outbreak near Newtown

A third case of Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza H5N1, otherwise known as bird flu, has been confirmed at a premises near Newtown, the county council has said.

A 3km Protection Zone (Avian Influenza), or PZ (AI) (pictured) has been declared around the infected premises, to limit the risk of disease spread.

Within this zone, bird movements and gatherings are restricted and all holdings that keep birds must be declared. Bird owners within the 3km Protection Zone and the wider 10km Surveillance Zone (SZ) are required to comply with the measures set out in the Appendices to the Declaratory Order, details of which can be found here.

Bird owners outside of the PZ and SZ are reminded that despite the lifting of the mandatory housing measures for poultry and captive birds from yesterday, that the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) will remain in force across Wales until further notice. 

This means all bird keepers in Wales (whether they have pet birds, a commercial or a backyard flock) must until further notice continue to abide by the mandatory biosecurity measures, and complete the mandatory biosecurity self-assessment checklist which can be found here.

Cllr Richard Church, Powys County Council’s Cabinet Member for a Safer Powys, said: “It is vital keepers of birds have the very highest levels of biosecurity in place, so that we can stop this highly infectious disease from spreading to more flocks.

“It is also important people do not touch or pick up any sick or dead birds to avoid spreading the virus.

“Public health advice remains that the risk to human health from the virus is very low and food standards bodies advise that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.”

Responsibilities of people who keep birds:

• All keepers of kept birds should be vigilant for signs of the disease such as increased mortality, respiratory distress and drops in food or water intake, or egg production.
• Consult your veterinary surgeon in the first instance if your birds are unwell.
• If you or your vet suspect that avian influenza could be causing illness in your birds, you must, by law, report this to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. This will trigger a disease investigation by APHA vets.

Strict biosecurity measures should be in place to prevent any materials, equipment, vehicles, clothing, feed or bedding that could have been contaminated from wild birds coming onto the premises.

If you find dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or other dead wild birds, such as gulls or birds of prey, you should report them to the Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77.

You can check to see if your premises falls within either the Protection Zone or the Surveillance Zone on the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Interactive Influenza Disease Map here.