Bird flu outbreak 2024: key questions amid growing concern over spread of disease
A fresh outbreak of bird flu is prompting rising concern among poultry farmers in the UK.
Eleven cases have been identified across the country, with two thirds of them in Norfolk, where hundreds of poultry farms are based.
The UK government's chief veterinary officers has said measures are being taken to control the outbreaks, and Defra is monitoring the situation closely.
ITV News examines the major questions around the outbreak - including symptoms to watch for, and the level of potential risk to humans.
What is bird flu?
Bird flu - also known as avian flu - is highly infectious and mainly affects birds, although in very rare cases it can transfer to humans and other animals.
The H5N1 virus is spread through bodily fluids such as saliva and droppings.
It is often passed on by wild birds that migrate from Europe during winter and can be very dangerous for poultry and domestic birds.
What does bird flu look like?
Bird flu can develop quickly, often affecting more than one bird. Symptoms include:
Swollen head
Breathing difficulties
Darkening of the comb and wattles
Sudden death without any obvious cause
Bird flu is more difficult to detect in poultry, but can sometimes show clinical signs.
An infected flock might show signs of respiratory distress, diarrhoea, a loss of appetite or a drop in egg production of more than 5%.
In more serious cases, symptoms could present quickly, often leading to a high number of deaths.
What's happening in the current outbreak?
Defra said the first case in the current outbreak was confirmed in England on 17 November 2024.
Nine cases have since been identified in Norfolk, with the Watton, Attleborough and King's Lynn areas affected.
Chief veterinary officer Dr Christine Middlemiss said most cases had been in commercial flocks.
One of the farms which has seen a case belongs to Traditional Norfolk Poultry, in East Harling in Norfolk.
The business lost 300,000 thousand birds during the 2022 outbreak and the company is now coming to terms with a first case in the current outbreak - that alone will see 25,000 birds culled.
How serious is it?
Dr Middlemiss said Defra was very concerned, and keeping a close eye on the spread of the disease.
She admitted it was a "challenging time" for any bird keeper.
"I am concerned because the number of cases has really gone up in the last week or so since the storms.
"We are worried. We are watching closely and we really need bird keepers to take biosecurity precautions to protect their birds."
The impact could be especially worrying in East Anglia, which is one of the country's poultry farming hotspots.
The NFU said the region's laying hens produce about 2.2 million eggs daily while farmers in the East supply almost a quarter of England’s table chicken.
The East is also a centre for turkey production.
However, there is optimism in the industry that this outbreak may not be as widespread as the one in 2022, as it has started far later in the year and cases tend to die down as the weather warms up in spring.
What is being done to control it?
Biosecurity controls have been put in place around areas where outbreaks have occurred. Where birds are infected, whole flocks are culled.
A wider regional prevention zone is in place covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull.
It is designed to help prevent the disease spreading by requiring all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures.
The government pays bird keepers compensation for healthy birds that have to be killed as a precaution, and also covers the costs of cleaning and disinfecting sheds - though farmers have voiced complaints about the level of these payments.
Orders can be made to protect poultry from infection by keeping birds inside, as was done in 2022, and this is being kept under review by Defra.
Dr Middlemiss said: "Thinking about housing birds is something that is on our radar. If the risk in this area continues to increase to birds and we think there is more benefit keeping them in than having them out then we'll take action."
She said the message to bird owners was to be scrupulous about biosecurity.
"Do the little things well," she advised. "Every time you go to a bird shed make sure everything is clean so you don't walk in infection."
The National Farmers' Union has advice on its website.
Will my Christmas turkey be safe to eat?
Defra said no one should worry about availability of turkey this year, as eight million birds are produced across the UK.
Dr Middlemiss said that turkey was safe to eat, but that it was sensible to make sure birds were cooked thoroughly to ensure safety.
No infected birds should enter the food chain, as they are culled if they show signs of bird flu.
Most turkeys for Christmas have already been slaughtered and are in production for people's Christmas lunches.
Can people catch bird flu?
The Health Security Agency continues to say the risk to people is very low.
However, as a precaution the government has bought up five million doses of bird flu vaccine in preparation for any future pandemic.
What do farmers want?
Poultry farmers are very concerned about the current outbreak, wtih calls growing for vaccinations to be rolled out to protect flocks from the disease.
Mark Gorton, of Traditional Norfolk Poultry, said: "Historically, there have been other diseases in poultry that have caused the same devastation that now we vaccinate for and we [no longer] hear of them.
"Bird flu is another one of these. We must get some sort of vaccination sorted out to stop this disease so that we can carry on as an industry and go forward."
The chief vet said Defra was working on vaccines with the industry and that discussions would continue, though no decisions had yet been made.
Dr Middlemiss said she understood that an outbreak could be financially devastating for farmers, and stressed that government support was available.
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