Tuesday 29 March 2022

Avian flu update

Avian flu in the UK has been the worst on record in the UK this winter and 'lockdown' restrictions remain in place. Our poultry continue to be confined with other biosecurity arrangements that are required in place. The expectation was that by this time, with the migratory season coming to an end, cases would diminish. This does not seem to be the case so far. 

Because of the length of time birds have had to be confined, eggs and poultry for sale can no longer be marketed as 'free range'. They are being re-labelled 'barn produced'. 

One of the worst affected areas recently has in fact been Suffolk. In the last four weeks alone there have been six separate outbreaks in the county, mainly in East Suffolk and Mid-Suffolk. The latest report was yesterday near Stowmarket. In one of these incidents a commercial duck producer had 85,000 birds culled and a further 25,000 culled in an outbreak in a different location.

As with covid, avian flu presents difficult policy decisions as to how best to manage the virus for the foreseeable future. It is probably wise for poultry keepers, large and small to prepare in advance for next winter with the expectation that confinement of birds will be required again and perhaps routinely in the future.

6 comments:

  1. It is a shame that birds need to be confined, but I'm sure that conscientious poultry keepers who usual have free range birds will endeavour to keep their flocks as happy and healthy as possible

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    1. I think most poultry keepers are doing the right things. But it takes just one contact with a wild bird or their droppings to cause an infection. Unfortunately it means the whole flock has t be culled.

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  2. No idea what we would have done with 120+hens! Egg sales were a big part of our income in the later years at the smallholding.
    Hopefully it will disappear for the summer.

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    1. We have about 80 chickens, plus ducks, plus turkeys which all have to be kept separate and confined. Its not been easy.

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  3. I read and digest all your posts, even those I don't comment on. Very interesting. Just curious about the implications of avian flu: what happens if a bird is infected? I mean, does it affect the meat, or the eggs or something else? Does it make them dangerous for human consumption?

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    1. Thank you. There are variants of avian flu but the one that causes the trouble is H5N1 which is fatal to birds. It is endemic in the Far East and in eastern Europe. It affects the UK in the winter as it is introduced by migratory birds and seem to be becoming more prevalent. As I understand it, avian flu can rarely pass to humans but does not generally cause serious illness. Like many viruses it is not very stable so cooking infected meat should kill the virus. However, policy responses understandably take a precautious approach and any infected flocks are immediately culled. I assume this is both for public safety as well as a control measure.

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