• Nov 19, 2014 08:07
• By Anthony Bond

A virus found at a duck breeding farm in East Yorkshire was the “highly pathogenic” H5N8 strain of avian flu

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Humans could be infected with bird flu after thousands of ducks were killed on a Yorkshire farm at the centre of a UK outbreak.

A leading health expert said 'we will probably see some human cases' after it emerged the virus found at the duck breeding farm was the “highly pathogenic” H5N8 strain of avian flu.

The World Health Organization has now said new cases of bird flu are likely to hit other bird populations and may infect humans.

WHO expert Elizabeth Mumford said: "I think we will probably see some human cases. I don’t see why we wouldn’t. If it’s really circulating widely, there’s no reason we shouldn’t see human cases."

She added: "We believe any time that humans are in close contact with poultry, there’s a possibility of transmission to humans."

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It is believed the outbreak in Yorkshire is linked to a similar one in the Netherlands and may have been spread by a migrating bird.

The farm operated by Cherry Valley in Nafferton, near Driffield, East Yorkshire, provides eggs which are then sent to another of the company’s farms to be bred.

Most of the animals are destined to be Peking duck in Chinese catering operations in the UK and Europe.

A six-mile restriction zone has been put in place around the farm.

Yesterday government vets visited dozens of other poultry farming operations in the area to check other animals.

If the disease spreads there are fears the Christmas turkey industry could be affected.

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John Vernam, managing director of UK operations at Cherry Valley, said: “We will be continuing our vigilance over the coming days and, like all poultry producers in the area, will be working with the authorities in the ongoing surveillance programme.”

On its website the company says it is the largest manufacturer of duck and duck products in the UK, rearing seven million Pekin ducks a year to the “highest welfare standards in the industry”.

The cull comes as the transport of poultry and eggs throughout the Netherlands was banned after an outbreak of the H5N8 bird flu strain was confirmed at a chicken farm in the central province of Utrecht.

The East Yorkshire outbreak is the first serious case of bird flu since 2008, when the H7N7 strand was found in free-range laying hens near Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Most types of bird flu are harmless to humans but two types - H5N1 and H7N9 - have caused serious concerns.

Chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said the Cherry Valley farm at the centre of the alert had good bio-security in place.

But he warned more cases could follow and, because of the risk of wild birds spreading the disease, urged farmers and their vets all over the country to be alert to the possibility of disease.

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Keith Warner, president of the British Veterinary Poultry Association (BVPA), also said that, while previous outbreaks of bird flu had been effectively controlled on one or two isolated farms, there could be more incidents in the latest outbreak.

“Everybody in the UK that owns birds in any number should be on bio-security lockdown,” he urged, advising no unnecessary visits to farms, transport or sharing of equipment, and that all free-range birds in the restriction zone should be kept inside.

Chris Dickinson, NFU county adviser for Yorkshire, said: “It is obviously a worry for poultry farmers but I just ask farmers to keep up high levels of biosecurity and Defra will inform us of their findings in the coming days.

“It is a busy time coming up for poultry farmers but poultry isn’t just for Christmas, it’s a big industry all the year round.”

A government spokeswoman said: “The advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health England remains that the risk to public health is very low. The Food Standards Agency have said there is no food safety risk for consumers.