21 Jan 2025
Allister Webb
Job TitleThe option of introducing wider avian flu restrictions in England is not being ruled out following a second confirmed case outside the existing prevention zone.
Restrictions are now in place around a site near Wem in Shropshire, where the H5N1 virus strain was confirmed in commercial poultry yesterday (20 January).
The news followed the virus being discovered in East Sussex as one of three new cases reported last Friday.
The present regional avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ), declared last month, covers East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Asked whether there was any plan for further restrictions, a Defra spokesperson said the issue was “kept under regular review as part of the Government’s work to monitor and manage” the risks from the virus.
She added: “Any decisions on when to reintroduce a national or further regional AIPZs or extend AIPZs to include housing measures are based on risk assessments built on the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice.”
There have now been 20 confirmed avian flu cases in England since mid-November, plus one in Scotland that was reported earlier this month.
Surveillance requirements introduced in the wake of the Shropshire case also stretch across the Welsh border and cover part of the borough of Wrexham.
