A sheep infected with bird flu will ring another alarm bell, as the virus still floats in mammals.
This is the first time all over the world that a It is known that sheep are infected. It was just in Yorkshire.
But the H5N1 -Virus is also found very widely in American dairy cattle. And Sky News revealed in December that Horses can also contain the virus.
These are ‘spill-over’ infections, with the bird virus jumping species. This is worrying, especially if the virus shows signs of adaptation to mammal cells.
And the close contact that people with tame animals have is an extra concern, because the virus has more opportunities to jump species again.
The UK is in another wave of H5N1, with large areas now part of the prevention of bird flu. Millions of poultry were The recent months culled.
Wild mammals are also affected. Recently, the virus was detected in dead seals in Northern Norfolk.
But it has also been found that foxes, otters, dolphins and porposes have the virus.
The Animal Plants Agency carefully monitor the situation.
Since the outbreak in American dairy cattle, it has started with a routine test of livestock on British farms with infected poultry.
This is how this ewe was detected, with H5 antibodies in her blood and genetic material from the virus in her milk.
Fortunately, all the other sheep on the farm were negative, but the animal was eradicated.
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Swift action as it reduces the chances of the virus developing and spreading genetic changes.
US authorities were too slow to act when the virus was detected in cattle.
It is now in at least 950 herds in 16 states, and harmless fragments of the virus have been detected in milk on the supermarket racks.
Further tests are performed on the virus that infected the Yorkshire sheep.
Scientists will see if they have genetic changes compared to the variants found in birds.
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The British Health Safety Agency says H5N1 is still mainly a bird disease and the risk to the general public is still very low.
But it is at the top of the list of viruses that are likely to cause a pandemic, so the authorities are attentive.
