Bird flu outbreak explained and risk to humans after man catches deadly strain

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A man has become the first person in the UK to contract bird flu, it was confirmed yesterday. Alan Gosling, 79, who kept ducks in his home, contracted avian flu after a local flock of 160 came up positive and were culled last week.

The news follows a string of outbreaks of avian influenza among the bird population across the UK. Measures have been put in place to slow the spread of the virus amid similar outbreaks across Europe and Asia.

Here is what we know about the virus in Scotland and elsewhere so far.Avian flu, which is commonly known as bird flu, is a type of influenza that spreads among the bird population.There have been a ‘large number’ of outbreaks and incidents of avian influenza in birds in the UK.Due to the outbreaks of the H5N1 strain, a significant number of birds have been culled in the UK in a bid to protect the avian population.Similar outbreaks have also been reported across Asia and Europe between October and the end of December.Avian influenza generally flares up in the autumn when the infection is spread by migrating wild birds.Did you know you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to our daily newsletter?We send a morning and lunchtime newsletter covering the latest headlines every day.We also send coronavirus updates at 5pm on weekdays, and a round up of the week's must-read stories on Sunday afternoons.Signing up is simple, easy and free.You can pop your email address into the sign up box above, hit Subscribe and we'll do the rest.Alternatively, you can sign up and check out the rest of our newsletters here.

The Scottish Government has recorded cases of H5N1 among the avian population in Scotland over the past few months. Specialist health teams have been called to five