Bird flu

I'm keeping a close eye on the bird flu outbreak in Norfolk as this is also one of my responsibilities in the Comhairle. The senior responsibility lies with the Director of Public Health in the NHS, but the practical control issues lie with the Comhairle.

We've already had one briefing day last year, and I've had further briefings though COSLA. On my email this weekend is yet more information from COSLA and the State Veterinary Service.

The biggest risk by far is migratory birds bringing it here, and Spring is the riskiest time of year as the birds return. There are a large number of HxNx variants, with 16 H types and 9 N types, and some variants have both high and low pathogenicity strains.

If you see a dead bird, then you are asked to report it to the authorities, and we would rather have a lot of erroneous reports rather than miss a genuine case.