Fourth case of bird flu in Ireland confirmed

Avian influenza H5N8 was discovered in a whooper swan on Longford-Leitrim border

A fourth case of bird flu in Ireland has been confirmed by the Department of Agriculture. File photograph: Ralf Hirschberger/AFP/Getty Images
A fourth case of bird flu in Ireland has been confirmed by the Department of Agriculture. File photograph: Ralf Hirschberger/AFP/Getty Images

A fourth case of bird flu in Ireland has been confirmed by the Department of Agriculture.

The latest case of avian influenza H5N8 was discovered in a whooper swan on the Longford-Leitrim border.

It is the second swan that has been found with the H5N8 flu virus.

A dead swan in Co Tipperary was confirmed to have the virus after it was discovered last week.

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The other two cases occurred in Co Galway and Co Wexford in the past few weeks, in a species of wild duck known as wigeons.

The avian influenza subtype H5N8 is a highly pathogenic strain that has previously been confirmed in the UK and mainland Europe.

Infections

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has said that, although it can cause serious disease in poultry and other birds, no human infections have been reported and the risk to humans is considered to be very low.

Earlier this month, Dublin Zoo moved its entire bird collection indoors due to threat from the latest bird flu outbreak.