THE RISK from bird flu has been raised to high in Britain following confirmed cases.

The chief vets from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland are urging bird keepers to maintain and strengthen their farm biosecurity measures in order to prevent further outbreaks of avian influenza in the UK.

As of Friday the risk level of avian influenza incursion in wild birds in Great Britain has been raised from ‘medium to ‘high’ following two unrelated confirmed cases in England this week and increasing reports of the disease affecting flocks in mainland Europe.

The vets said the UK has robust biosecurity measures and monitoring in place to prevent the disease spreading in this country and "the risk of transmission of avian influenza viruses to the general public in the UK remains very low".

READ MORE: Bird flu: What you need to know about the new threat

But the economic cost can be significant.

Health experts say people should avoid touching sick or dead birds, while chicken and eggs are safe to eat if cooked thoroughly, as that kills the virus.

The vets say all bird keepers are being urged to prevent direct or indirect contact with wild birds, with the risk of infection of poultry in Great Britain also being raised from ‘low’ to ‘medium’. Wild birds migrating to the UK from mainland Europe during the winter period can spread the disease to poultry and other captive birds.

Northern Ireland’s risk of avian influenza incursion remains medium for wild birds and low for poultry, but is being kept under constant review.

The UK’s four Chief Veterinary Officers said: “Following two confirmed cases of avian influenza in England and further cases reported in mainland Europe, we have raised the risk level for incursion to Great Britain from migratory birds to high.

"We have also raised the risk level for the disease being introduced to poultry farms in Great Britain to medium. While Northern Ireland’s risk level is currently medium for wild birds and low for poultry, the situation is being kept under constant review.

“We have acted quickly to prevent the spread of disease at both sites in England and are continuing to monitor the situation closely. Bird keepers should remain alert for any signs of disease and report suspected disease immediately.

“It is important now more than ever that bird keepers ensure they are doing all they can to maintain and strengthen good biosecurity on their premises to ensure we prevent further outbreaks.”

A poultry farm in Frodsham, in Cheshire  had cases: a cull of 13,000 birds was ordered there on Monday with health officials saying it was the H5N8 strain.

Testing confirmed this is a "highly pathogenic strain" related to the virus currently circulating in Europe.

A smaller cull was reported at a farm in Kent, in the south-east of England, where the H5N2 avian influenza strain was detected this week.

All 480 ducks and chickens on the site near the town of Deal were to be killed to limit the spread of the disease, the Government has confirmed.

The outbreak of the H5N2 avian influenza at the small commercial premises was confirmed on Monday.

A 1km restricted zone was put in place around the site to limit the risk of the disease spreading, while urgent enquiries are underway for any evidence that it has spread further.

There have also been a number of confirmed reports of avian influenza in wild birds including geese and swans in the Netherlands and north of Germany in recent weeks. 

On Thursday, Dutch authorities were racing to contain a bird flu outbreak at two poultry farms and the same strain - H5N8 - has also infected chickens and wild birds in north Germany.

A farm in the eastern Dutch town of Puiflijk and another nearby have been told to cull 200,000 chickens.

Chickens were also infected at a small poultry farm in Nordfriesland, part of Germany's Schleswig-Holstein state.

In February farmers in Scotland were urged to boost security after a case of bird flu was confirmed.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) Scotland said the virus, thought to have been contracted from wild birds, was found in Scotland.

The global spread of H5N1 in birds was  considered a significant pandemic threat in 2006.

To date, according to the World Health Organisation there have been 455 worldwide hdeaths due to H5N1.

While prior H5N1 strains had been known, they were significantly different from the 2006 strain on a genetic level, making the global spread of the strain unprecedented. 

Concerns famously surfaced in the UK when scientists and vets were conducting urgent tests on a dead swan infected with bird flu that was discovered in Scotland.

The then Scottish Executive confirmed that the bird, found in a village in Fife yesterday afternoon, was carrying the "highly pathogenic H5 avian flu" virus.

Authorities immediately quarantined the area around the Fife village of Cellardyke.

 A protection zone with a minimum radius of 1.8 miles (3 km) was set up, as well as a surveillance zone of six miles. In London, the Cabinet Office activated its emergency committee, Cobra.

Birdkeepers in the zone were instructed to isolate their flocks from wild birds by taking them indoors wherever possible, and measures to restrict the movement of poultry, eggs, and poultry products from these zones were put into effect.

The UK was previously declared free of avian flu in September 2017 and has remained free of highly pathogenic avian influenza since then.