Passing bird may be H5N1 source

A PASSING wild bird may have been the source of the new cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu found in three dead swans in Dorset, England.

The new outbreak has prompted a call from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) and the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) for Irish poultry producers to maintain high levels of vigilance and bio-security.

The DAFF have pointed out, however, that the most the recent information available is that there is currently little migration and the migratory pattern is stable and, as such, the risk to Ireland remains low.