By Claire Marshall.
The Environment and Rural Affairs Correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
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Thousands of birds have been culled.
The UK's chief veterinary officer told the BBC there is a "phenomenal level" of the flu in the UK.
Tens of thousands of birds have been culled as the largest number of premises ever have been affected by an outbreak of bird flu.
There is no link between the Covid-19 Pandemic and human health, but officials say that birds should not be touched.
The chief vet said it has huge human, animal, and trade implications.
Lessons learned from the foot-and-mouth outbreak are being used to try to control the outbreak.
There were 38 confirmed infections in the UK as of Wednesday, 31 in England, three in Wales, two in Scotland and two in Northern Ireland. There were 26 confirmed cases last year.
The disease is spread by migratory birds which return to Britain. The UK is only a few weeks into the migratory season, which usually lasts until March.
We need to keep up the heightened levels of biosecurity.
The UK was declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone on 3 November. All bird owners were required to keep their animals indoors when it was extended.
Dr Middlemiss said that there was a high level of infections in the birds that returned from the north of Russia and the east of Europe.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs advises that the risk of human health from the A(H5N1) virus is very low. Members of the public are advised not to touch birds that are sick.
Dr Middlemiss said that the availability of eggs in supermarkets is unlikely to be affected because the number of farms affected is low.
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Turkeys have been culled.
It is devastating for those individual companies involved because of the large number of chickens and eggs that we produce. It's devastating for people who keep flocks.
Bird sanctuaries, small flocks, and large commercial farms are some of the types of premises that have been affected by the disease. Some of the wild bird species have been found dead or dying from the disease.
After a case is confirmed by the APHA, the control zones are set up and the birds are killed. More than 10 thousand birds have been destroyed in some commercial farms.
The first detection of the H5N1 strain was in a swan sanctuary in October.
footpaths were blocked off and the public was urged not to feed the animals after swans were found dead around the centre of the city.
The disease was confirmed in birds in an urban area. In nature reserves in Scotland there have been other outbreaks.
Dr Middlemiss said that the key was biosecurity. She said that keeping chicken sheds clean would reduce the chance of wild birds coming into contact with kept birds.
The 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak in the UK resulted in the slaughter of six million cows and sheep.
Cattle-to-cattle contact spread foot-and-mouth. There can be very little control over the spread of bird flu.
Birds tend to go off their food and water and then develop respiratory problems, eye discharges and sneezing, which is the clinical sign of an infection. They can show nervous signs, like twisted necks.
"We're not on our own," said Dr Middlemiss. There are many outbreaks happening in the EU. This strain is different than the one last year. We need to understand why we are seeing more year-on-year outbreaks.
She wanted to understand the pattern of the outbreak, so she waited until another year. To understand more of what we can do about what's behind it, we will be working with our own scientists.
Everyone should take care to maintain good hygiene when feeding garden birds, regularly cleaning feeders outside with mild Disinfectant, spacing out feeders as much as possible, and washing their hands.
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