By Bird flu outbreak due to “poor virus control”
Last winter’s worst outbreak of bird flu in Lincolnshire, was due to “poor virus control”, officials say.
There were a total of 15 outbreaks of the H5N1 virus around Alford, Louth, and Mablethorpe.
This ended in 1.2 million birds being culled in December.
That transmission was “unprecedented” for the county and the country as a whole, Trading Standards officers said regarding the matter.
Lack of cleaning, disinfection, and other necessary measures were likely causes, councillors were told.
According to reports, there were more than 60 confirmed bird flu outbreaks across the country since November last year.
From the BBC, Trading Standards manager Mark Keal was asked about the high case rate by Lincolnshire County Council’s public protection and communities scrutiny committee.
He said: “Poor virus control is the likely explanation. It can be that premises aren’t secured, or that wild birds have access to the stock.
“Measures like cleansing and disinfection can be used to minimise the risk. [Lack of that] is the likely cause in this case.”
Mr. Keal said the outbreak was a “stark reminder of how animal diseases can disrupt farms, cause risk to the public, and cause significant financial harm”.
Temporary disease control zones were seen around the sites to control the spread and inform those travelling through the area.
All of those zones are no longer enforced and Trading Standards officers confirmed there were no more suspected cases in Lincolnshire, according to the Local Democracy Service.
The government is expected to spend millions of pounds on compensating farmers who had animals culled.
The BBC suggests, “It is estimated that the outbreaks cost Lincolnshire’s Trading Standards services around £10,000 and 210 officer days, which meant other inspections had been delayed, councillors were told.”.
