Bird flu has been detected in a sheep in northern England, the first known case of its kind in the world, Britain’s government said
, adding to the growing list of mammals infected by the disease and fueling fears of a pandemic.
Many different mammals have died of the H5N1 bird flu virus across the globe inc
luding bears, cats, dairy cows, dogs, dolphins, seals and tigers.
“The case was identified following routine surveillance of farmed livestock on a pr
emises in Yorkshire where highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) ha
d been confirmed in other captive birds,” Britain’s government said in a statement.
There have been cases among humans which have ranged in severity fro
m no symptoms to, in rare cases, death. But there has not yet been any confirmed transmission between humans.
The sheep that tested positive was a ewe with signs of mastitis, an inflammatio
n of breast tissue, and no other clinical signs, the statement from the British
government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency said.
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Ed Hutchinson, professor of molecular and cellular virology, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, said the fact
that the sheep’s milk also tested positive suggested parallels with the ongoing
H5N1 outbreak among dairy cows in the United States.
Bird flu has spread among U.S. dairy cattle since March 2024.
He added, however, at the moment there was no evidence of ongoing
transmission from the sheep and the case appeared to have been contained.
The ewe was culled and no further infection was found in the rest of the flock.
Britain’s rural affairs ministry has introduced surveillance of livesto
ck on premises where bird flu has been confirmed in captive birds following the outbreaks among dairy cows in the United States.
“Globally, we continue to see that mammals can be infected with avian influ
enza (H5N1),” Dr Meera Chand, emerging infection lead at the UK Health Security Agency, said.
“However, current evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses we’re seeing circulating around the world do not spread easily to people – and the risk of avian flu to the general public remains very low.”
