I am writing this piece on the 19th October; things may change and therefore advice will change. It is vital that you keep up-to-date as the virus spreads westwards and the ideal place for finding advice pertinent to UK birds is the official DEFRA website, www.defra.gov.uk

At the time of writing the H5N1 strain of avian influenza has been confirmed in Greece, Romania and Turkey so it is still quite a long way off. The major risk to the UK is via migratory birds, especially waterfowl. We therefore advise the following:
    1. Migrant birds have the potential to bring in avian influenza virus every year yet UK outbreaks in captive birds are uncommon.
    2. The chances are slightly higher this year owing to the known proximity of the virus.
    3. The major risk is from migratory waterfowl. Therefore it is sensible to move captive birds away from lakes/ ponds where migratory waterfowl may congregate. There appears no immediate need to cover aviaries
    4. The reason for the additional fears with this strain is that it has infected and killed 60 people in Asia. It is possible that one case was human-human though this is not certain. However, contact with birds must be very close for this to occur. Therefore risk to the public from aviary birds is low. Precautions should, however, be considered for keepers entering aviaries or handling birds with additional measures considered for stopping public contact with birds (walk-through aviaries, handling birds, etc) should the virus enter the UK. I can see no reason to contemplate closing whole parks to the public. While the press speculate on ‘flu pandemics, the virus will have to mutate to allow easy human-human spread while still maintaining its virulence; this is a big ask.
    5. The role of vaccination in exotic bird species needs further evaluation and, at present, cannot be done without EU permission. Vaccination, like infection, produces antibodies to the virus. If the birds are not vaccinated then it will be much easier for the authorities to track progress of the virus, especially as, in the early stages, a slaughter policy may be implemented
    6. At the moment contingency plans for the points in (4) should be drawn up and reviewed as
        a. The virus enters the UK
        b. The virus becomes widespread in UK wild birds
    7. In the meantime, normal good biosecurity practices should be implemented and maintained.

We are asked to be extra vigilant with respect to wild birds falling sick. While the odd single bird becoming sick is extremely unlikely to be linked to avian influenza virus, it is important that deaths of several birds in an area are reported. To help with this there is a DEFRA helpline, 08459 335577. If in doubt please ring this number

John Chitty BVetMed CertZooMed MRCVS