Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the avian influenza outbreak; and what assessment they have made of the risk of transfer to the human population.

Defra's approach to disease control is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain ( www.gov.uk/government/publications/notifiable-avian-disease-control-strategy and the Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases of Animals in England ( www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingency-plan-for-exotic-notifiable-diseases-of-animals-in-england)

Once disease has been confirmed, susceptible birds are humanely culled and disease control zones are put in place around the infected premises. These are to reduce the risk of disease spread further. Movements of live birds, eggs, poultry carcases, poultry litter and manure are subject to restrictions. Veterinary investigations and epidemiological assessments are carried out at each infected premises, including the tracing of all movements of birds on and off, and surveillance is carried out within the disease control zones.

The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus associated with the current outbreak in the UK has been analysed in the international reference laboratory at Weybridge, Surrey, part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). It has been shown to be genetically the same as that found in the current outbreaks on the continent of Europe. The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) assessment ( https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/6379) is that the viruses identified in those outbreaks are not related to the Asian H5N1 ones which have caused some human infections elsewhere in the world.

In the light of the current outbreak we have established a statutory Avian Influenza Protection Zone (AIPZ). All bird keepers are required by law to take a range of further precautions including keeping their birds indoors except in very specific circumstances. Similar measures were also introduced in Scotland and Wales. I refer the Noble Lady to my statement of 8 December 2020: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2020-12-08/hlws621

Public Health England advises that the risk to the public's health from the virus in the current outbreaks is very low. The Food Standards Agency advises that on the basis of the current scientific evidence, avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.