Bird flu case confirmed in South Ronaldsay
Bird keepers in Orkney are being urged to be vigilant as a case of wild bird flu was confirmed in South Ronaldsay by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on Wednesday, February 5.
A dead buzzard near Windwick was sent to the APHA under the Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme and found to have HPAI – more commonly known as bird flu.
The Local Health Protection Team at NHS Orkney and Orkney Islands Council have been advised in accordance with partner agreements.
The council’s trading standards manager, Gary Foubister, said: “It is key that the public are vigilant in monitoring the health of their kept birds; in reporting any suspicion of disease promptly; and in applying strict biosecurity.
“By implementing biosecurity measures folk can reduce the likelihood of their kept birds being infected.”
Biosecurity measures include:
- Cleansing and disinfecting clothing, footwear, equipment and vehicles before and after contact with poultry or other captive birds – if practical, making use of disposable protective clothing.
- Reducing the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry and other captive birds are kept, and use of effective rodent control.
- Keeping government-approved fresh disinfectant at the right concentration at all farm and poultry housing entry and exit points.
- Minimising direct and indirect contact between poultry and other captive birds with wild birds.
- Fencing off areas of standing water that may attract wild waterfowl, so they are inaccessible to poultry.
More information about avian influenza, including biosecurity guidance, is available at www.gov.scot/avianinfluenza