New, reported, positive cases of H5N8 identified in wild birds have settled down to just one each week – last week’s was another Whooper Swan in Norfolk.
There seems to be a shift in positive cases in wild birds in Europe to represent more Mute Swans and Whooper Swans – although since testing of living or dead birds can hardly be described as representing any form of rigorous sampling procedure the interpretation of this is obscure.
Meanwhile a positive case has been found in a chicken flock at a Northumberland Farm.
Defra says ‘As a result of the continuing reporting in the EU, the risk level for the UK is maintained at “HIGH” for an incursion of an infected wild bird, and as “LOW TO MEDIUM” for introduction of infection to poultry on individual premises dependent on the level of on-farm biosecurity. Commercial poultry premises with good or high biosecurity measures are unlikely to get disease. The widespread locations of the positive wild bird findings suggest that we should consider the whole of the UK as a risk area for wild bird infection but that areas with populations of waterfowl species may carry a greater risk proportionally in terms of risk level for poultry premises.’.
That’s an interesting assessment. The risk of an infected wild bird is high. An infected bird, a single infected bird. Well I’m sure that the risk of a single infected bird probably is high. But what is this bird doing? It is mounting an incursion; incursion – an invasion or attack, especially a sudden or brief one. No demonising of wildlife there then.
Defra doesn’t really seem to know much about the means of transmission of this disease. My guess is that they might just as well have issued the following: ‘We think there is bird flu circulating about in wild birds at a low level but we don’t really know which species carry it, or its prevalence in most parts of the country, or how it gets from wild birds to commercial flocks and there have only been a handful of positive cases over the last few weeks but that might be due to the inadequacy of our monitoring regime. There have been few outbreaks of bird flu at commercial farms so we are guessing that the risk to an individual farm is very low but we are also guessing that the chances of a few further cases happening somewhere, at some time is very high. However, we can’t predict in advance where this might be, or when, or how, because we don’t know much about how the disease is transmitted.‘
Free-range hens which haven’t been freely ranging are still free-range say farmers. Well, you can’t argue with that.
[registration_form]
ah, a Ministry for Honest Press Releases, can you imagine! Think that idea has legs!