Bird flu: Outbreak at Donnington commercial poultry side confirmed

Avian flu has been confirmed in poultry at a property in Donnington

Bird flu has been found in commercial poultry at a site in Lincolnshire.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the H5N1 virus was found at a property in Donnington. It is the first case confirmed in England since 1 October.

A 3km (1.86 miles) Protection Zone and 10km (6.21 miles) Surveillance Zone was put in place around the property.

The restrictions mean that all movement of birds and eggs in the protection zone must be monitored.

The UK Health Security Agency advise that bird flu was primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public's health is very low.

Bird flu is an infectious disease of poultry and wild birds that has been around for a century.

It usually flares up in autumn before fading away in spring and summer.

It can spread through entire flocks of domestic birds within a matter of days, through birds' droppings and saliva, or through contaminated feed and water.

More than 350 UK farms have seen infections between 2020 and 2023, according to Defra.

In Lincolnshire, which is home to many poultry farmers, it was estimated in excess of a million birds had to be culled in the two months following December 2021 after more than a dozen outbreaks were identified.

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