One person was infected with bird flu in the south-west of England, the British Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Thursday, stressing that the risk remained “very low” for humans despite a strong epidemic in birds.
The UK has been facing an unprecedented bird flu outbreak since November. Hundreds of thousands of birds have been slaughtered due to this viral disease spread by migrating birds from northern Russia and eastern Europe. The case of the infected individual was detected after the identification of an epidemic of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza among his birds. “The person was infected as a result of very close and regular contact with a large number of infected birds, which she kept in and around her home for an extended period,” the UKHSA said in a statement.
The patient “is currently doing well and remains in isolation”. “All of the individual’s contacts, including those who attended the scene, have been traced and there is no evidence that the infection has spread to anyone else,” he said. ‘UKHSA. The transmission of avian influenza from birds to humans is “very rare”, it is stressed.
“Although the risk of avian influenza to the general public is very low, we know that certain strains have the potential to spread to humans and that is why we have put in place effective systems to detect them quickly and take them. measurements, “said Professor Isabel Oliver, UKHSA Scientific Director.
“Currently there is no evidence that this strain detected in the UK can spread from person to person, but we know viruses are evolving all the time and we continue to monitor the situation closely.” , she added.
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