No bird flu reprieve for the UK

Despite the latest cases, the UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency confirmed that the housing order had been lifted in England and Wales on Tuesday (April 18) as planned.

Poultry farmers in the UK have had little to no reprieve from avian influenza, with further cases of the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain detected at a premises in East Yorkshire, just three days after it was announced national housing measures would be lifted.

The order had been in place since October 12, requiring all kept birds to be housed indoors as well as heightened biosecurity measures.

Despite the latest cases, the UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency confirmed that the housing order had been lifted in England and Wales on Tuesday (April 18) as planned. Localised restrictions will apply instead where new outbreaks emerge.

Housing orders have also been lifted in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by their own respective agencies.

UK’s chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: “Whilst the lifting of the mandatory housing measures will be welcome news to bird keepers, scrupulous biosecurity remains the most critical form of defence to help keep your birds safe.

“It is thanks to the hard work of all bird keepers and vets who have played their part in keeping flocks safe this winter that we are in a position to take this action. However, the unprecedented nature of this outbreak has proven it’s more important than ever for bird keepers to remain vigilant for signs of disease and maintain stringent standards of biosecurity.”

In a statement, the UK's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the scale of avian influenza outbreaks across the UK and Europe have been "unprecedented", with cases being confirmed into the second year of an outbreak for the first time. 

It confirmed the UK had faced its largest-ever outbreak of bird flu, with over 330 cases confirmed across the country since late October 2021.

An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) remains in force across England. The zone means that all bird keepers (whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) must take extra precautions, such as restricting access for non-essential people on site, ensuring workers change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures and cleaning and disinfecting vehicles regularly to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

The UK Health Security Agency advises that the available evidence suggests viruses currently circulating in birds in the UK do not spread easily to people. Food standards bodies advise that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. There is no impact on the consumption of properly cooked poultry products, including eggs.