Bird flu cases confirmed in Devon

A new outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed in Devon, according to officials.

Highly-pathogenic avian flu was found at a premises near Ashburton on Friday 5 August, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

All birds on the infected premises will be humanely culled.

A 3km (1.8-mile) protection zone and a 10km (6.2-mile) surveillance zone has been put in place around the premises.

Two other disease control zones are still in place in Devon including at a premises near Dartington, South Hams, where bird flu was found in commercial poultry last month - the other is near Tiverton where the avian flu was found in captive birds.

The Government has confirmed there are currently 106 cases of bird flu in England alone.

What is bird flu and how does it spread?

Avian flu, also known as bird flu, is a type of influenza which spreads among birds.

The UK has recently seen a large number of outbreaks and incidents of avian influenza in birds across the country of the H5N1 strain and Animal and Plant health Agency (APHA) and the UK’s chief veterinary officer have issued alerts to bird owners. 

Some strains of bird flu can pass from birds to people, but this is extremely rare.

It usually requires close contact with an infected bird, so the risk to humans is generally considered very low.

Human-to-human transmission of bird flu is very rare.