Final Report Published on Latest Avian Flu Outbreak

The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has today published the final epidemiology report into the avian influenza outbreak confirmed in Oxfordshire on 4 June.

The report concludes that, at the time of writing (2 July), infection was confined to a single premise, and there is evidence of neither infection on any contact or geographically close premises, nor evidence of spread of infection to any other premises to date.

While it has not been possible to identify the source of the infection conclusively, the two most likely sources of the outbreak are thought to be either unidentified avian flu in domestic premises in Great Britain, associated either by proximity or potential contact, or avian flu in wildlife in contact with the infected farm.

Investigations are now complete.

Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, Alick Simmons, said, "This incident has demonstrated again the potential for avian influenza to be introduced into domestic poultry in the UK. The risk of further incidents, while low, remains.

"I urge poultry keepers to maintain the highest standards of biosecurity and to report suspicion of disease promptly including where records indicate increased mortality or reduced performance."

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