- The HSE is echoing advice from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) not to touch or handle any sick or dead wild birds, because of the risks of avian influenza.
- Two recent cases of avian influenza in wild birds means that the avian influenza virus is circulating in wild birds and has the potential to cause more wild bird death and illness.
Bird flu or avian influenza (AI) is a type of influenza that primarily affects wild birds and poultry, and which can also occasionally infect some mammals and humans. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a type of AI that can cause high levels of illness and deaths in birds. Of the many strains of HPAI viruses, the H5N1 virus is widely regarded as the most serious for both birds and humans. Since…