A human case of chicken flu has been present in England, well being officers have stated.
The virus was detected in an individual within the West Midlands area who is claimed to have been contaminated whereas on a farm, having had “close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds”.
The birds had the DI.2 genotype – which is understood to be circulating in birds within the UK this season, the UK Well being Safety Company (UKHSA) stated on Monday. It’s totally different to strains circulating amongst mammals and birds within the US.
Anybody the person has been involved with has been contacted by officers and people at highest danger of publicity have been supplied antiviral remedy, the company stated in a press release.
The particular person involved is “currently well” and being handled at a Excessive Consequence Infectious Illness (HCID) unit.
The chance to the broader public is “very low”, the company stated, including that it is uncommon for individuals to catch the H5N1 virus, additionally known as avian influenza, from birds.
Picture:
This colourised electron microscope picture supplied by the Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Illnesses in 2024 reveals avian influenza A virus (chicken flu) particles, pink/yellow, grown in cultured cells. Pic: CDC by way of AP
No instances of human-to-human transmission have been detected regardless of what the UKHSA known as “extensive recent surveillance of influenza A(H5N1)” amid a number of chicken flu outbreaks in birds throughout the nation.
The case was detected as a part of routine surveillance for chicken flu by the Animal and Plant Well being Company (APHA), which found an outbreak in a flock of birds.
Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, stated the chance of avian flu to most people remains to be “very low”, and there’s at present “no evidence of onwards transmission” from the case.
She stated the general public mustn’t “touch sick or dead birds” and comply with Division for Setting, Meals and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) recommendation about reporting any suspected instances.
UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss stated it’s totally uncommon for a human to catch the illness, regardless that it’s “highly contagious” in birds.
All of the contaminated birds are being “humanely culled” and the premises “cleaned and disinfected”.
She warned of a “growing number of avian flu cases in birds on both commercial farms and in backyard flocks across the country”.
Andrew Gwynne, Minister for Public Well being and Prevention, stated his division is “monitoring this situation closely”, however the danger of wider or onward transmission is “very low”.
The federal government has stocked up on H5 vaccine, which protects towards chicken flu, he stated.
Human-to-human transmission of the illness has solely been seen very hardly ever and by no means in Europe or the UK.
There have been seven human instances within the UK since 2021; that is the second by which a person has proven signs.
On Saturday, the UK Chief Veterinary Officer ordered a brand new Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) masking the entire of England and Scotland following the rise in instances.
Final month, scientists on the College of Glasgow stated chicken flu can infect horses with out inflicting any signs, elevating fears that the virus may very well be spreading undetected.
