Outbreak of bird flu strain H5N1 on Cornish farm

A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at a commercial poultry farm in Cornwall.

The government said all poultry on the infected premises – near Rosudgeon, St Ives – would be humanely culled and a 3km (1.9 mile) protection zone and 10km (6.2 mile) surveillance zone had been put in place.

It said this was the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 – the major strain – this season.

The H5N5 strain was detected on a farm in the East Riding of Yorkshire earlier this month.

They follow the detection of HPAI, H5N5 and H5N1 in birds kept in the wild in England.

The virus has been around for a century, with outbreaks tending to happen in autumn and fading away by spring and summer.

It spreads through birds’ droppings and saliva, or through contaminated feed and water.