UK bird flu research project launched to protect poultry and seabirds

The author is Adam Vaughan.

The highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has wreaked havoc on UK seabirds and has put pressure on poultry farming.

The risk of the disease spreading to and from poultry is growing due to reports of seabirds dying on UK beaches. There were a record 122 poultry cases recorded in the UK last winter. More than 1100 cases of bird flu have been found, compared with 300 the previous winter.

The UK Animal and Plant Health Agency hopes the FluMap project will help fill knowledge gaps about how the H5N1 flu is evolving and how it is finding its way into poultry farms.

The jump into wild birds has changed the situation. It is the same as a bird flu epidemic. According to Brown, it will have an impact on food security and there are concerns about public health.

The extra pressure on seabirds that are already suffering from overfishing and climate change is worrying theConservationists.

Identifying how the flu is spread from wild birds to chickens and ducks will be a key task for the eight research institute and universities behind FluMap. If faecal matter is dropped on pasture near a poultry building, it could be infectious for a long time. Smaller birds such as sparrows may act as abridging species and pass it on to poultry.

A lot of the spread is due to humans. People entering poultry farms might carry the disease on their shoes. The straw may have been exposed to wild birds.

Reducing infections in poultry will help wild birds by reducing the chance of spillover from domesticated birds to wild birds. The disease came from farms.

Some of the research on the evolution of the H5N1 virus could be used to develop a vaccine for bird flu.