What is the UK government doing to help prevent outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 in the UK?
Along with other European Union Member States, the UK government has imposed strict controls over the importation of poultry and poultry products and on the movement of cage birds. Government has also been conducting surveillance for AI in wild birds, which is how the Cellardyke case was discovered in March 2006. In response to the Cellardyke case in Scotland, the Government implemented its national contingency plan, which involves various restrictions within zones around an outbreak to limit further spread. Defra also meets regularly with experts on bird migration and waterbirds to evaluate movements of birds – data from national bird surveillance schemes, such as the BTO/WWT/RSPB/JNCC Wetland Bird Survey and the British Ringing Scheme (organised by the BTO and part-funded by JNCC), are used to inform risk assessment of Asian lineage HPAI H5N1 both spreading and arriving at new locations within the UK as a result of wild bird movements.
