Bird Flu Hits British Duck Farm

Ducks at a British farm have been confirmed as being infected with the bird flu virus.

Ducks at a British farm have been confirmed as being infected with the bird flu virus.

Workers at the location are in the process of culling around 6,000 affected and at risk birds.

Suspicions that the ducks were compromised arose about a week prior to the discovery.

Farmers noticed that their flock was laying fewer eggs and more fowl than usual were dying.

Testing was performed, and the avian flu was confirmed as the cause for the irregular incidents.

The strain that infiltrated the East Yorkshire flock has been confirmed to not be H5N1, the variety that can be fatal to humans.

This particular outbreak is believed to be linked to one discovered recently in the Netherlands.

While officials there locked down all affected areas and prohibited the transport of eggs and poultry for days, wild birds could have become infected and spread the virus.

At this time, those migrating south towards warmer climates are the suspected carriers.

Officials in England have enacted containment methods and are performing an ongoing investigation.

They stress that humans are not at significant risk of being impacted by the virus strain found.