UK authorities closely monitoring bird flu outbreak

The UK government has put restrictions in place around a farm in Suffolk amid concerns over a new outbreak of bird flu.

Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of avian flu strain H5N8, which has been circulating in wild-bird populations and has caused a number of outbreaks in the UK, but it is not yet clear whether the disease is highly pathogenic— deadly to birds — or not.

The affected poultry farm, which is located near Redgrave, Mid Suffolk, England, contains around 23,000 birds, a number of which have died. A decision has been made to humanely cull the remaining birds, while an initial 10km control zone has been put in place to prevent spread of the disease.