A subtype of Bird Flu has been confirmed in County Tipperary

This is the second positive wild bird finding in Ireland this year.

Bird flu has been detected in a wild bird in the Republic of Ireland for the second time this year, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed. A common buzzard in County Tipperary has tested positive for avian influenza – subtype H5N6. The Department announced that the same subtype was found in a white-tailed eagle in the Premier county on 5 February. The buzzard was found dead outside Terryglass on land adjacent to Lough Derg.

The Department of Agriculture has said the situation in Ireland and other EU countries in regard to Avian influenza is being kept under constant review. No additional control measures will be introduced at this point.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSE-HPSC) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) advise that the risk to public health from H5N6 avian influenza is very low and that the disease poses no food safety risk for consumers. FSAI (Food Safety Authority of Ireland) has also confirmed that poultry meat is safe to eat, provided that it is handled hygienically cooked thoroughly prior to consumption.

As a precaution, the Department have advised that only trained professionals equipped with personal protective equipment should collect dead or sick birds. Members of the general public have been warned not to touch birds of this nature. Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is a viral infection that can infect not only birds, but also humans and other animals. However, most forms of the virus are restricted to birds. Back in 2006, the number of human deaths directly related to the H5N1 strain of Avian Influenza was over 100.