Avian influenza (bird flu) resources

Leicester City Council, according to a story in the Leicester Mercury of 22nd December, are putting up notices to ask the public to report dead ducks and other water birds.  This follows bird flu on a poultry farm in Lincolnshire some days ago.   Some brief notes about useful resources about avian influenza seems timely.

Leicester City Council's information, including how to report, is here.   Check your local council, of course, if you are not in Leicester!

Then look at UK Government information.  This will tell you the latest situation, about restrictions on movement, and gives advice for the public.  The site confirms that the farm is affected by the H5N8 strain.    Note added 5th January 2017 - there is an update from the UK government here.

There is no suggestion that I have seen that humans are affected, here in the UK or elsewhere in Europe (there have been cases among birds elsewhere in Europe).   So, purely on a "just in case" basis, therefore, I mention Public Health England's information on symptoms, diagnosis and management, and epidemiology, last updated earlier in 2016.

For more news on avian influenza, see news from CIDRAP, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.  It does report cases from Europe, so will give you a wider picture.  It reports cases beyond Europe, as well, of course.

Another site for a global view is PROMED-Mail.  Look at the news feed on the left of the page, and click an item for more detail.   You can use the map to find information about infectious disease cases by location.  A larger map is here.