Bird flu alert as two cases detected in poultry workers in England
TWO Brits have tested positive for bird flu in the first cases for over a year.
The UK Health Security Agency said two workers from a poultry farm in England were found to have the bug in routine testing since March.
Neither had any symptoms and they have since tested negative.
A UKHSA source said they may have simply had bird droppings in their noses when they were swabbed, rather than being infected.
They are the only positive cases since December 2021, when 79-year-old duck-keeper Alan Gosling caught it at home in Buckfastleigh, Devon, where he lived with 20 Muscovy ducks.
World Health Organization figures suggest around half of human cases are fatal – but they are rare.
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Bird flu has caused havoc for UK farmers since October 2021 with “unprecedented” numbers of infections in animals.
Scientists say there is still no proof it spreads between humans but it can transmit in mammals including foxes, otters, cats and dolphins.
The UKHSA said the risk to the general population is still “very low”.
Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: "Current evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses we're seeing circulating in birds around the world do not spread easily to people.
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"However, we know already that the virus can spread to people following close contact with infected birds and this is why, through screening programmes like this one, we are monitoring people who have been exposed to learn more about this risk.
"Globally, there is no evidence of spread of this strain from person to person, but we know that viruses evolve all the time and we remain vigilant for any evidence of changing risk to the population.
"It remains critical that people avoid touching sick or dead birds, and that they follow the Defra advice about reporting."
The virus is transmitted by close contact with birds and bird droppings.
People who work with birds, such as on poultry farms, are at the highest risk and get routine testing.
Officials checked the two cases’ close contacts as a precaution and found no further positive results.
Last month, a man in Chile infected with a bird flu had shown concerning mutations, US health officials warned.
Studies suggest the new mutations could cause the virus to be more deadly and spread more easily.
What are the symptoms of bird flu in humans?
The main symptoms of bird flu can appear very quickly and include:
- a very high temperature or feeling hot or shivery
- aching muscles
- headache
- a cough or shortness of breath
Other early symptoms may include:
- diarrhoea
- sickness
- stomach pain
- chest pain
- bleeding from the nose and gums
- conjunctivitis
Source: NHS
