The first case of avian influenza, commonly known as ‘bird flu’, has been detected.
The animal in question, a wild duck, was located in Wexford town. It was alive but unable to fly.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has confirmed that the duck was infected with the H5N8 virus subtype. This subtype can cause serious illness among the animal population, but has low pathogenicity for humans.
A set of bio-security measures will now be put in place, to ensure the virus does not reach poultry destined for human consumption, or other captive birds. Almost 5,000 turkeys have been culled in the UK in recent weeks due to an outbreak.