UK detects world's first case of bird flu in a sheep

'The case was identified following routine surveillance of farmed livestock on a premises in Yorkshire where highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) had been confirmed in other captive birds," Britain's government said in a statement.

Bird flu has been detected in a sheep in northern England, the first known case of its kind in the world, Britain's government said, adding to the growing list of mammals infected by the disease and fuelling fears of a pandemic.

Many different mammals have died of the H5N1 bird flu virus across the globe including bears, cats, dairy cows, dogs, dolphins, seals and tigers.