First person infected with bird flu in UK after 'rare' avian outbreak

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A human has contracted bird flu in the UK, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed. The unidentified person, based in the south west of England, tested positive for the avian flu after coming into close contact with a large number of infected birds.

The person is said to have kept the birds in and around their home over a prolonged period of time.They are now isolating at home and there is no evidence of onward transmission to anyone else following contact tracing.It is "extremely rare" for avian flu to pass from birds to humans, the agency said in a statement.A spokesperson for the UKHSA said: “The person acquired the infection from very close, regular contact with a large number of infected birds, which they kept in and around their home over a prolonged period of time."All contacts of the individual, including those who visited the premises, have been traced and there is no evidence of onward spread of the infection to anyone else.

The individual is currently well and self-isolating. The risk to the wider public from avian flu continues to be very low." A number of outbreaks of bird flu have been detected among the avian population across Asia and Europe between October and the end of December - which has led to millions of birds being culled.

H5N1 - the strain currently circulating in birds in the UK - has also been confirmed at a number of premises in Scotland - with cases identified in Dumfriesshire and Angus, according to the UK Government.Bird to human transmission of avian flu is very rare and has only occurred a small number of times in the UK previously.An animal health expert has claimed that the recent outbreaks of the virus could an increased risk of transmission in humans due to a high