Increased monitoring – concerns London: Sheep on bird flu got sick

The pathogen spreads worldwide among wild birds. With countless mammals, the virus has already been proven, including bears, cats, dairy cows, dogs, dolphins, seals and tigers. There were also incidental cases in people – from asymptomatic courses to fatal infections. However, a transfer from person to person has not yet been confirmed.

The London government emphasized that although it was the first detection of H5N1 in a sheep, the virus was already determined in other countries in farm animals. There are no proof of an increased risk of British livestock farming. The British government sent the public on Monday that the case was found in the context of routine monitoring of farm animals on a farm in Yorkshire, on which the H5N1-Vogel-FLU virus was previously confirmed in other preserved birds.

Threat situation is increasing
After the H5N1 eruptions under dairy cows in the US, the British Ministry of Environment introduced increased monitoring of farm animals that are held on companies with confirmed cases of bird flu. “We continue to see infections of mammals with bird flu worldwide. However, current insights suggest that these viruses are not easily transferred to humans – the risk of the general population remains very low,” said Meera Chand of the British health authority UKHSA.

The UN World Health Organization that classifies the risk of the general population so low, but the EU Health Authority ECDC and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) warned at the end of January against increasing threats of bird flu viruses.