For the latest situation you should
look at the DEFRA
website where you will find links to the appropriate information.
DEFRA can be contacted Monday-Friday
9.00am-5.00pm on 08459 33 55 77 but, in the event of an alert,
there may also be an 'out of hours' telephone number made available.
You will be well aware from the press
that Asian Bird Flu has recently affected a commercial poultry
farm. At this time the outbreak appears to be contained and
there are no reports of occurences elsewhere, either on farms
or in the wild.
The following guidelines were issued
and, to the best of our knowledge, largely still applies-
If you find one or more dead wild swans,
ducks or geese (wild fowl), three or more dead wild birds of
the same species or five or more of different species in the
same place you should contact the Defra Helpline on 08459 33
55 77, available Monday - Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm You will be
asked for details of your finding and its location.
If the dead bird is a single, small garden,
or wild bird then you do not need to call Defra. You should
either leave it alone or
follow the guidelines below for disposal
Wild birds can carry several diseases
that are infectious to people and some simple hygiene precautions
should be taken to minimise the risk of infection. It is hard
for people to catch avian influenza from birds and some simple
steps are effective precautions
• Avoid touching the bird with
your bare hands
• If possible, wear disposable protective gloves when picking
up and handling the bird. If disposable gloves are not available,
use a plastic bag over the hand.
• Place the dead bird in a suitable plastic bag, preferably
leak proof. Care should be taken not to contaminate the outside
of the bag. Tie the bag and place it in a second plastic bag.
• Alternatively, the bird can be buried. In this case do
NOT place it in a plastic bag.
• Remove gloves ( or bag used in lieu), turn them inside
out and then place them in the second plastic bag mentioned
above. Now tie the bag and dispose of in the normal household
refuse bin.
• Hands should then be washed thoroughly with soap and
water
• Any clothing that has been in contact with the dead bird
should be washed using ordinary washing detergent at the temperature
normally used for washing the clothing.
• Any contaminated indoor surfaces should be thoroughly
cleaned with normal household cleaner.
