A United Kingdom government statement confirming the incident said the virus strain had been identified as H5N1. This is the bird flu strain that has spread to most countries in recent years.
Only one sheep was infected, and it was culled to enable extensive testing. The UK Chief Veterinary Officer has reminded livestock keepers of the need to maintain good biosecurity and to remain vigilant to the clinical signs of avian influenza following recent outbreaks.
The statement quoted Dr Dr Meera Chand, Emerging Infection Lead at the UK Health Security Agency, as saying:
“Globally, we continue to see that mammals can be infected with avian influenza A(H5N1).
“However, current evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses we’re seeing circulating around the world do not spread easily to people – and the risk of avian flu to the general public remains very low.”
